Kewanee firefighters look over the department’s new fire engine, which was delivered Monday. [Photo by Michael Berry]

A new jewel in the Kewanee Fire Department’s equipment lineup arrived at the fire station Monday.

The city took delivery of a new lead fire engine from the Alexis Fire Equipment Company.

After the firefighters on duty, joined by City Manager Gary Bradley, looked the new truck over, they took part in what has become a ritual for new vehicles in the department: They joined to push the new truck into the station.

The truck cost $742,456. Fire Chief Stephen Welgat said $693,000 was paid for with a federal grant, with the city picking up the rest of the cost.

The new engine will take over the lead spot from an engine purchased in 2017. Welgat said that engine, which is virtually identical to the new one, cost around $350,000.

The impact of the covid pandemic, among other things, has driven up the cost of fire engines, the chief said.

“We’ve been pretty lucky” with the federal grant program, Welgat said. The program provides funds to local fire departments for equipment and training.

Those federal funds also paid for paramedic training for five recently-hired Kewanee firefighters, and for some new automatic defibrillators for the Kewanee department. And Welgat said the department is pursuing another grant for a new fire truck.

The new truck has about twice as much storage space for equipment as the one it’s replacing, Welgat said. It can hold 1,000 gallons of water, and pump 1,500 gallons per minute.

The crew that pushed the new truck into the station were. from left, firefighters Ales Brunson and Andrew Welgat; Fire Chief Stephen Welgat; firefighters Jake Forney, Shawn Frank and Greg Rush; and City Manager Gary Bradley. In front is Jake Forney’s son, Dean. [Photo by Michael Berry]

Pushing the new truck into the station is a ritual that harkens back to the days of horse-drawn fire engines. Those engines had to be pushed back into the firehouse after a call “because horses can’t back up,” Welgat said.

The 2017 truck will now be used as a backup, and a 1994 truck will be held in reserve.

Welgat said Kewanee’s new truck won’t actually go into service for a few days. It will be taken to a fire equipment expo at the Peoria Civic Center, and will be on duty on Oct. 16.