The Okmulgee Fire Department welcomed a new engine into service during a traditional “push-in” ceremony at Fire Station No. 2 on E. 8th Street, marking a major public-safety investment for the city. Community members and local officials gathered as Chief Dewayne Hurt and OFD firefighters formally ushered the new 2025 Engine 1 into its bay - reviving a custom dating back to the 1800s, when crews physically pushed horse-drawn fire carts back into the station after calls. The new apparatus carries 1,000 gallons of water, pumps 1,500 gallons per minute and is outfitted with rescue tools. During opening remarks, Mayor Mickey Baldwin offered a prayer that the engine would serve as a “chariot of hope” for residents in crisis.