"Many volunteer fire departments in the United States celebrate the arrival of a new piece of apparatus with a wetdown. A wetdown is a large celebration in which the neighboring fire departments share in the joy of a new fire engine or truck by coming with their engines and wetting down the new truck, something easily interpreted as a metaphor for baptism. The ceremony also borrows from the tradition of christening a newly commissioned ship. The engine is a firefighter's lifeline; this is why great care is given to its maintenance and appearance."
