Answering the Call: A Tradition of Service

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Well hello there. Welcome back to Haven 444. This week we get to celebrate a new fire engine arriving in Lynnhaven and talk a little bit about what that process looks like, what the push-in ceremony represents. We'll be speaking with Chief Mark Johnson and with a few of the firefighters to talk about that tradition and what being a firefighter for the city of Lynn Haven looks like. Because there are moments in a community that feel bigger than the moment itself. A gathering of tradition, a sound you recognize even before you see it. For many in Lynn Haven, that sound is the low hum of a fire engine rolling slowly into place as neighbors gather around. Not in urgency but in celebration. Because here, even something as simple as bringing a fire engine home becomes something shared. Recently, the Lynnhaven Fire Department welcomed a new engine with a tradition that dates back generations. The push-in ceremony. A moment where firefighters and community members place their hands on the front of the truck and guided into the station together. It's a nod to the early days when engines were pulled, not driven. Today it's not about a necessity. It's about memory and connection and honoring the work that continues from all those who have set the stage before us.

SPEAKER_03 1:45

The first push-in ceremony I ever saw was back in 2014 when I was the deputy fire chief for Riviera Beach. Our chief at the time was a very traditional guy. So our apparatus back in 2014 were similar to what we have here today. They were just very old, antiquated into life. So we got our first one, and he came to me and says, Hey, we need to keep the traditions alive. So we did some research and looked at what the tradition was for a push-in ceremony. So the traditional way is with the horse-drawn engines, they got detached from the horses, and they'd have to push it back into station. Well, that dates back to about the 17th to 18th century. Well, as motorized vehicles came in effect, they didn't have to do that. So market programs across the nation wanted to keep this tradition alive. Then the community city leaders they end up pushing that truck back into the bay as if the horses were being detached and push it back in. Once it's in the station, then it's considered in service. Having the community there shows that they support the endeavors and the vision of the fire department. And making sure that the public know that we have new apparatus that can respond to any call that they call for. It could be from a fire to a car wreck, whatever that may be. But having community engagement and community support is everything. I'm a traditional fire chief, traditional firefighter, I'm second generation, so I learned a lot of these things from my father, which retired as an assistant fire chief. And he was a fireman back in the late 60s and 70s, where the traditions were still alive. And it's very important that we keep these traditions alive because it shows that we respect the people that came before us. It respects them that they put in their service and sometimes you know they gave their lives up for it. So keeping these traditions alive are significant because it brings that community together and shows that support. Giving them pieces of equipment that they can rely on. It shows the citizens when these trucks are rolling, it gives them a sense of happiness. It gives them a sense of knowing that their support from a community base that they support the fire department that can get to the calls that they respond to. The city is the best city to live in, but it still has that small-town feeling, even though the growth is coming. But having the ability to make a small department still traditional with family values.

SPEAKER_04 4:42

Since Lynnhaven was founded in 1911, fire protection here has always begun with neighbors showing up from one another. First three bucket brigades and hand tools in those early years along the bay. By the 1940s and 50s, that spirit took shape as an organized volunteer fire department. And in the decades that followed, especially through the 70s, 80s, and 90s, it grew into the train, full-service fire rescue team we know today. Through it all, including defining moments. Like in Hurricane Michael, the mission has remained unchanged. Show up, protect, and take care of one another. The push-in ceremony for the new engine wasn't just about a new truck. It's about another chapter in a story that's been unfolding here for more than a century.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

My name is Eric Razansky. I'm a lieutenant at EMT with Lynnhaven Fire Rescue, and I've been here around three years. I love this small knit community because there is a high sense of family. It's easy to build relationships and see similar faces on and off the job, and I just love the morale of the community. Everyone's prideful in Lynn Haven. I love the brotherhood that we have built here. Me and everyone on my shift and the other shifts as well have a very positive relationship. We all support each other any way we can.

SPEAKER_02 6:11

My name's Engineer Carr. I've been here for almost three years. I'm the engineer, so on when I come in, I make sure the truck's ready for the crew. I'm the one that drives the apparatus to any incident, and on fires I'll pump the truck, like pull the levers and supply the hose with water. I actually grew up here, so I see a lot of faces I recognize growing up, and it's always cool seeing them around. To me, it's nice just helping a community that helped me grow up, and I went to Mosley High and we work around them all the time. Just getting to go on calls every day with my friends, because they're friends to me. Like my coworkers, me and our crew, we have a great relationship. So anytime I can go on calls with them and learn and make new experiences, that's that's my favorite part about it.

SPEAKER_04 6:55

It's one of those traditions that says something without needing to explain itself. That the past is still present, that service is still valued, and that this community remembers where it started. And like so many things in Lynn Haven, the story of the fire department is rooted in people.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

His name is uh Silas Marler. We are his mom and dad, Jamie and Sarah Marler. He will be three at the end of May, and he is obsessed with all things fire and fire truck related. And we're just super thankful for Chief Johnson that both of the push-ins that we've had recently, he's been able to help with that.

SPEAKER_04 7:33

In neighbors looking out for neighbors in a time when equipment was simpler, but the calling was just as strong.

SPEAKER_03 7:43

There's so many positive things within the city that sometimes get overlooked. And I think if we can push out the good, the new engines, the new uniforms, the community engagement, we have the best parts I've seen in my career. The city is just waiting to erupt with all the good.

SPEAKER_04 8:07

Those early days may look different now, but the heart of it hasn't changed. The willingness to show up, to step forward, and to answer when it matters the most. Today that same spirit continues through the men and women who serve this community every day. You hear it in their voices. This isn't just a job, it's a place, a team, a community they're proud to be a part of. And maybe nowhere is that connection more visible than in the families who come out to watch. Oh, there's something special about seeing it through a child's eyes, the lights, the trunks, the moment, and also something deeper. A first glimpse of what it means to serve, to belong, and to be a part of something that's larger than yourself. From those early trucks to the engines of today, from the hands that once push them into place, to the hands that still do. The story continues. Not just in equipment or buildings, but in people. Because in every community there are those who stand ready, not for recognition, not for applause, but because it matters. And here in Lynnhaven, that story is still being written. One call at a time, one generation at a time, and one tradition carried forward. This is Haven four four four.

SPEAKER_03 9:47

Our city.