To hear city Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon tell it, the scene wasn’t that much different from what firefighters would have done over a century ago, save for the diesel engines, smartphones and modern clothing.

 

On Oct. 1, the Fall River Fire Department welcomed its newest truck, Pumper 9, in a ceremony rich with firefighting traditions at the Flint Reney/Eastwood Fire Station on Eastern Avenue.

 

The truck received a traditional “wet down” and was towel-dried by firefighters and local officials including Mayor Paul Coogan, state Sen. Michael Rodrigues and state Rep. Alan Silvia. It received a blessing from fire chaplain Rev. Michael Racine, who sprinkled it with holy water.

 

Bacon said the truck shares its name with a horse-drawn pumper used by the department at a Pleasant Street station over a century ago.

 

“If you could somehow bring one of those firefighters from 1899 here today, and show them the truck sitting here, I don’t think he’d know what to make of it,” Bacon said.

 

The new pumper truck is one of six in the city’s frontline fleet, which also includes three ladder trucks and a heavy rescue truck. It replaces a pumper truck built in 2017 that will be kept as a reserve.