By Sarah Watson
Quad City Times
DAVENPORT, Iowa — Davenport has a new fire engine in service.
It’s a 2024 Sutphen fire engine, named Engine 2, powered by a 9-liter, 450 horsepower engine. The engine has a 500-gallon tank for water supply, can pump more than 1,500 gallons of water per minute and carries more than 1,000 feet of hose, according to a news release from the city.
“The design of the new apparatus gives us better mobility through town, greater reliability and versatility during responses and focuses on safety and firefighter capability for our responders,” Davenport Fire Chief Mike Carlsten said in a news release.
The apparatus cost $740,000, according to Davenport Chief Communications Officer Denise Hnytka.
“We realize this is a large investment into our organization. This new apparatus will provide the most up-to-date technology for our firefighters to answer the needs of our community in a safe and efficient manner,” Carlsten said.
The fire department held a “push ceremony” where firefighters literally pushed the apparatus into the Central Fire Station this week. The tradition dates back to the mid-1800s when horses still pulled fire wagons to structure fires, according to the city. When a company would return from the fire, the horses were unhitched and the wagon was manually pushed back into the firehouse.
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