Bonham, Texas -- Wednesday, September 3, 2025, was a red-letter day for Bonham Fire Department as the community gathered with firefighters and city leaders to dedicate BFD's bright red new Engine 2 with a Fire Engine Push-In Ceremony.
Engine 2 will replace the apparatus dedicated on June 14, 2011.
Following an invocation by Mark Posey, Bonham Mayor H.L. Compton greeted the crowd gathered at Bonham Fire Station #2.
Mayor Compton began by thanking the community for supporting Bonham Fire Department.
"You have given this department the tools they need to provide you safety," Compton stated, "and I want to thank the men and women of Bonham Fire Department for putting their lives on the line every day. I think we have the best department in the state."
Bonham Fire Chief Chris Hughes was quick to express his gratitude to citizens, as well as the mayor, city manager, city council and county commissioners.
But one particular group poured countless hours into this acquisition to make sure Bonham Fire Department and Bonham residents receive the best machine possible.
"I want to give a special thanks to the Apparatus Committee that designed this truck from the ground up," remarked Chief Hughes.
Hughes gave the audience a bit of the history of Bonham Fire Department. The department first began to take shape in 1893 and fell under the auspices of the City of Bonham in 1912. Engine 2 is the 12th motorized apparatus acquired by the department in its 132-year history.
Time-honored traditions are revered in this proud profession and the Fire Engine Push-In Ceremony pays homage to one of those traditions.
In the years of horse-drawn fire engines, firemen would celebrate the arrival of a new engine by washing off any signs of the dusty road -- or horses -- from the engine. Then, firemen would gather to push the shiny, new fire engine into the fire station.
This tradition had to be modified over the years as firefighting apparatus got heavier and heavier. To push BFD's Engine 2 into position required several stout firemen and an assist by the apparatus's powerful diesel engine.
