BY SUSAN MCTIGUE
CORRESPONDENT
OLD TAPPAN, N.J.––A wet down is a community’s celebration and christening of a new fire truck, just as breaking a bottle of champagne against a new ship invites good luck.
The Old Tappan Fire Department welcomed a new Pierce 100-foot ladder tower in January, and held its official wet down on Saturday, Aug. 19 at the fire house on Tappan Road.
The new Engine No. 63 replaced the old No. 63, which served the town well for 30 years, becoming the oldest operating fire truck in the county at the time of its retirement. The old firetruck was sold to a community in Brazil and will continue functioning for more years.
Fire Chief Dave Keil and Fire Department President Jim Butler expect the new truck will serve Old Tappan well for another 25 or 30 years.
The celebration began with the arrival of an old fire engine from Rutgers, and was followed by a larger and more modern one from Tenafly, then several others from surrounding area fire departments. Each pulled up to Engine No. 63 as junior volunteer firefighters turned their hoses on the visiting trucks as their own was doused with water. Because the summer weather was perfect, children ran in and out of the water spray, chasing rainbows that appeared above their heads.
Enthusiastic members of the Old Tappan Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary sold T-shirts and mugs that commemorated the event, as visitors enjoyed a steady supply of hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages with peppers and onions.
A disc jockey kept the celebration in high spirits as Old Tappan residents and visitors delighted in what has become a summer highlight in the suburbs of northern New Jersey.