YORKTON – The City of Yorkton has officially welcomed a new fire engine into service, revealing its community-chosen name “Truck Norris” during a push-in ceremony at the Yorkton Fire Hall.
The name was selected from more than 60 submissions gathered from classrooms, community groups and residents.
Siblings Tallulah and Brewer Pengilly proposed the winning entry and were recognized at the event before climbing aboard for a ride in the new engine.
Mayor Aaron Kienle said the name reflects Yorkton’s personality as much as its pride in local emergency services.
“Truck Norris is bold, fun, and truly reflects the spirit of our community,” Kienle said. “Thank you to Tallulah and Brewer for their creativity, and thank you to our firefighters for the incredible service they provide every day.”
Deputy Fire Chief Dallas D’Aoust said the new apparatus replaces a 25-year-old engine that had reached the end of its service life.
He said the department was determined to choose a unit that could meet the demands of both structural and wildland firefighting.
“This is a replacement truck for one that had basically expired for us,” D’Aoust said. “It’s a wildland-urban interface fire engine, so it can do wildland fires as well as urban fires. We’re really excited to have the new increased capability that the fire truck offers us.”
D’Aoust said the department prioritized wildfire versatility when evaluating options, noting the growing number of grass and field fires in east-central Saskatchewan in recent years.
“With the increase in wildfires in the province and the number of field fires we get around farmers’ fields, we thought it was a good idea to increase capability and have more diversity in our fleet,” he said.
The city purchased the engine at a cost of about $980,000 — a figure D’Aoust said is comparatively economical.
“This was actually a cheaper option,” he said. “Some of the other trucks we looked at were about $400,000 more. This was definitely the more economical option, and it’s going to do a really good job of serving our community into the future.”
Yorkton Fire also added a high-pressure foam system to the engine, giving crews a stronger initial attack for both wildland and structural fires.
“It allows us to attack fires a lot more aggressively and have a longer-lasting impact so the fire doesn’t rekindle,” D’Aoust said.
When Yorkton’s primary engine is down for repairs or routine maintenance, the new truck will take over frontline duties.
The fire hall ceremony also revived a tradition that dates back to the era of horse-drawn fire wagons. In keeping with custom, firefighters and community members helped guide the new engine into the bay to mark its first official day of service.
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