MOUNT VERNON — Fire Chief Chad Christopher wants to bring a time-honored fire service tradition to Mount Vernon.
A fire truck push-in ceremony is set for Thursday, March 13, at 10 a.m. at the Station 491 on West Gambier Street.
“We all know we just got a new fire truck. It’s out right now getting some work and equipment done on it, but when it comes back, we want to have a community event,” Christopher said.
“This is kind of a new tradition that we want to start, not uncommon to the fire service by any stretch, but new to Mount Vernon.”
Christopher said fire truck push-in ceremonies date back to the early days of firefighting when fire trucks were initially horse-drawn.
After returning from a call, firefighters and community members had to push the vehicles back into the station manually.
Over time, this act evolved into a symbolic gesture that embodies the fire department’s unity, dedication, and connection to the community it serves.
“We want to bring that tradition to Mount Vernon, especially with this new truck,” Christopher said.
“So we’ll have a short little ceremony outside, and then we will push the fire truck inside the bay.”
The tradition includes using a leather bucket to wash the truck.
“A couple of us do some stuff with leather, so we’re going to have a leather bucket, and we’re going to embrace it as best as we can, the whole thing,” Christopher said.
Once the truck is inside the bay, community members can participate in a “wet down” by washing the fire truck.
Other MVFD news
February runs totaled 529 compared to 574 in January.
I’m glad that that went down a little bit,” Christopher said. “However, we have seen a ton of sickness calls within our community, with the flu. That source has been hitting us hard, so I’m hoping to keep seeing that number go down a little bit.”
The annual report is complete and on the city’s website under departments (scroll down to fire).
MVFD received a training reimbursement grant from the Ohio Fire Academy for just over $2,200.
“We can pay that forward to the people that are going to some classes this year,” Christopher said.
Several staff members plan to attend the National Fire Academy training in Maryland during Ohio Fire Weekend.
Christopher reminded residents that the burn ban went into effect on March 1.
That means no burning between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. in the townships.
“In your municipalities, that doesn’t take place. However, you do still have to follow the EPA burning laws,” Christopher said.
“With the wind and stuff like that and the dry over the winter, if you’re in the city or outside the city, it’s not a good idea to burn.”
Mount Vernon Police Department
Assistant Chief Andrew Burns said the number of calls was consistent during February.
The 1,0006 calls include 571 traffic stops and 49 crashes.
“Fortunately, only seven of those were injury, and the rest of our calls really kind of maintained,” Burns said.
A significant February arrest involved a case that started as a child pornography investigation.
“It resulted in the seizure of 100 grams of cocaine, some other illicit drugs, cash, and a firearm, so a great job to our units and our detective division who worked on that case,” Burns said.
“That suspect is in jail at this time, pending charges.”
PAK United had its 2025 kickoff at Summit Axe Throwing. Fire and Iron sponsored the event.
“This cost the PAK United program absolutely nothing courtesy of Fire and Iron. We’re really grateful for that,” Burns said.
Mike Pryjda of Specialty Outdoor Services donated two forcible entry tools.
“You may not know from looking at them, but they’re about $1,000 in value for the two of these, including the wedges that come with it,” Burns said.
Other MVPD news
The MVPD continues to work on grants and has received the first of three new fleet vehicles slated to arrive this year.
“Look for a Chevy Silverado out on the streets. It’s going to be our command vehicle,” Burns said.
“It is brand new, but it is a 2024 Ford that was on the lot, so we were able to get a very good deal on that.”
The annual report should be out soon.
Sgt. Nick Myrda will attend a conference in Chicago specifically geared toward community engagement.
