New ladder truck rolls into Station 6

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Thursday morning the Rapid City Fire Department held a ceremony and blessing to welcome their new ladder truck into service. The ceremony included a traditional push-in, where the truck was pushed into Station Six by members of the department.

This tradition dates back to the 17th century when many of the fire trucks were horse-drawn carriages that, after being taken out, had to be manually pushed back into the garage.

The ceremony was long-awaited as the process to get the custom-built truck began in 2019. However, due to economic and supply issues, the truck was not received until this year. With the truck now in service, fire fighters believe they will be better prepared.

”It means increased response capabilities for this side of town. We primarily take the Central Southern part of the city, a lot of the Mount Rushmore, Carton area near where our station is located. So, we have a huge influx of residential and commercial multi-story buildings, and this apparatus will help us provide increased response to those in case of emergency or fire,” said Station Six Capt. Trapper Lappe.

Truck Six is the third ladder truck to be added to the department.

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