(photo by Sarah Fortney) Bethesda firefighter Garland Hill stands beside the Fire Department’s new fire engine during a dedication ceremony March 4. The new apparatus, which the department received in December 2009, is the department’s first red fire engine.

Dressed in their Class A uniforms, NNMC’s firefighters gathered in the fire house Thursday along with several command leaders and staff members. As NNMC Commander Rear Adm. Matthew Nathan began his speech in front of the crowd, as rescue workers responded to a fire alarm.

‘‘You are amazing and what you do is great,” Nathan said, as sirens roared in the background and several firefighters rushed out of the ceremony to respond to the call. ‘‘The fact that you’re here and what you do lets people sleep at night.”

Nathan noted the fire department is constantly helping to make sure the command has the proper safety precautions in place, especially as the hospital grows during this time of integration.

‘‘You all are always there, looking over our shoulders ... making sure we do things safely,” he said.

Nathan added that the department’s new piece of equipment will not equate to the skills and abilities of its firefighters because of who they are and what they do is priceless.

‘‘You are the men and women who when the rest of us run out, you run in,” he said.

The firefighters carried on with a traditional ‘‘wash down” and water transfer during the ceremony, hosing the new engine and transferring water from their other engine to the new one. NNMC Deputy Commander Capt. Daniel Zinder, Chief of Staff for the future National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) Capt. Michael Hendee and Executive Officer of Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bethesda Cmdr. John Lamberton gripped a fire hose and washed down the truck before firefighters transferred the water.

The ceremony ended with a ritual ‘‘christening” and ‘‘pushing” the engine into the fire house’s garage. Rather than crack a bottle of champagne on its newly polished paint, Adm. Nathan poured some bubbly in front of the truck. Several commanders then pretended to push the engine into place while one firefighter steered and others guided.

The fire department chose to dedicate their new apparatus to men and women in the military who have given the ultimate sacrifice. Carl Glover Jr., director of Navy Fire and Emergency Services, said this was the first time he has seen a department dedicate an engine to such a cause.

Navy Fire and Emergency Services manages fire engines for fire departments throughout the entire Navy, writing specifications for engines and prioritizing needs for new engines. Glover noted that departments usually receive a new engine every 10 years, making this event that much more ceremonious.

Glover and Ricky Brockman, deputy director for Navy Fire and Emergency Services, don’t usually have the opportunity to attend dedication ceremonies because they happen all over the Navy every day. Because they work close by in D.C. they were able to come to this one.

‘‘This is very special,” Glover said. ‘‘Trucks are the center of the fire department. Without a reliable truck, the firefighters are not going to fulfill their mission.”

The engine, which came to Bethesda Dec. 28, is also unique to the department because it’s the department’s first red engine. Typically, military command fire departments have green or yellow engines.

‘‘It’s nice to get a new fire truck,” said NNMC firefighter Jody Sealey. ‘‘We get to make it our own.”

One particular way they’ve given their new engine a personal touch is by having ‘‘2008 Department of Defense Heroism Award” painted on its side. They received this Defense Department award for their role in saving 2-year-old triplets from a burning home in Bethesda in December 2008.

‘‘It gives us pride, and it makes it Bethesda’s,” Sealey said.