The East Limestone Volunteer Fire Department now has a new high-tech tool in fighting fires — a new pumper truck.

A dedication ceremony was held Saturday to mark the 2017 E-One Typhoon being put into service. The ceremony was the focal point of a spring open house event held at the fire house on East Limestone Road.

Kasey Brown, president of the fire department’s executive board, said obtaining the truck was the culmination of two years of effort by the board and the apparatus committee assigned to complete the task. He previously told The News Courier the new truck cost about $500,000.

At Saturday’s ceremony, Brown thanked members for their support. He said those who assisted in the process can be proud of what they accomplished because the new truck would “benefit this community for years to come.”

Those in attendance included Limestone County Commission Chairman Mark Yarbrough and Athens Fire & Rescue Chief Bryan Thornton. In March, Thornton’s department put a new pumper truck into service, which was also an E-One Typhoon.

After a few words from Fire Chief Joey Boyd, the truck was pushed by all members in attendance into its bay at the firehouse on East Limestone Road. Push-in ceremonies are a tradition of the fire service, dating back to when hand-pulled and and horse-drawn apparatuses were pushed back into a firehouse after calls for service.

Boyd then made a ceremonial radio call to shift supervisor Taylor Shores at Athens-Limestone E911, proclaiming “Engine 117 is now in service.”

Pastor Eric Mattox of East Highland Baptist Church was about to bless the new pumper truck and the first responders when a crash with minor injuries was reported on Capshaw Road. The alarm bell briefly delayed the dedication ceremony but resumed when first responders arrived back at the station.

Brown asked East residents to “stay tuned” for future news from the department, including the completion of a second firehouse in late summer, which he said should decrease response times.