ATHOL - The Timberlake Fire Protection District pushed out an old tender and rolled in a new one last Thursday.

The district, which serves Athol and the Bayview and Chilco areas, welcomed a new $250,000 tender to its Athol station with a traditional "Push In" ceremony.

Firefighters, commissioners and district patrons physically pushed the old tender, T-663, out of the station while Chief Kevin Kleinworth officially declared it retired. The new tender, T-661, was wet down by the old tender. The new tender was then pushed into the station.

"This ceremony dates back to the 18th century when fire pumps were steam powered and pulled by horses," said Brittany Baeumel, a Timberlake staff member.

The ceremony was completed when a dispatcher made an announcement that T-663 was retired and T-661 is in service.

The new tender, a custom-built rig manufactured by Boise Mobile Equipment, has an International chassis and holds 2,000 gallons of water.

The new tender is funded under a lease/purchase agreement within the existing budget.

"This will not raise taxes," Baeumel said. "This was budgeted into this fiscal year's budget."

The rig will be leased for five years, and when it's paid off it will become Timberlake's property.

The old tender, which is nearly 20 years old, will become surplus property and be sold via a sealed bid process.

"It is our hope that it goes to another rural agency," Baeumel said. "However, that is not always the case."

She said the new tender was needed based on the older tender's age and expected amount of use.

"Timberlake Fire's water tenders are called upon more than fire trucks for mutual-aid response," Baeumel said. "We needed the dependability of a new tender capable of pumping water at the same rate or better as the engine. The tender augments our fire engine with similar functions."