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2004
 

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Local museum hoping to educate and pay tribute

Fires constantly capture the public’s attention but that attention turns to cinders in lieu of the fire museum.

By MARUJA ROSARIO

Reporting

Spring 2004

HARRISBURG , Pa. - Fires are destructive forces that devour almost everything in their path.  Last year 57,574 fires destroyed 3,815,757 acres of land nationwide, down 34 percent from 2002.  The main reason for the decrease in fire destruction is the brave men and women who dedicate their time to fighting this menace.  Harrisburg has been honoring the efforts of its’ firefighters for the past nine years with the Pennsylvania National Fire Museum , a museum scarcely known to the general public.

Since 1995, the Pennsylvania National Fire Museum has devoted space and time to the firefighting history of Pennsylvania and more specifically Dauphin County .  “We are dedicated to preserving history through the last 200 years from the media post colonial to the present,” said Ernie Walter, main volunteer for the museum.

The museum occupies the former station of the Reily Hose Company No. 10 in downtown Harrisburg , which burnt down and was fully restored for the museum to occupy.

The museum began as nothing more than a concept in 1993. It was an idea being tossed around by firefighters, historians, and fire buffs.  Their main goal was to preserve and showcase the history of firefighting, something the public knows little about and takes for granted. Harrisburg mayor Stephen R. Reed, a fan of cultural museums in the city, approved the museum and it has since been educating young and old. 

Museums in Dauphin County are struggling. The most prominent being the Civil War Museum whose sales are significantly lagging compared to projected expectations.  The Pennsylvania National Fire Museum does not have the same financial issues as its siblings.  The museum does not pay its staff; it is completely run by volunteers who are mostly active and retired firefighters.  Having no salaries to pay causes the museum to have very little overhead which it pays through donations, ticket sales, and gift shop sales.  Though the museum doesn’t struggle as much as other museums, it still fights its own financial battles.  Walter explained that funding is always tight for museums, with this one being no exception, and the museum does not have as many visitors as he would like. 

Making money is not the primary aim, however.  Educating the public about firefighting history is first and foremost in the minds of those involved with this museum. The museum features unique exhibits designed to spark interest and to teach, giving special attention to fire history during the late 1800s. One of the highlighted exhibits is the Gamewell Fire Alarm Room where an 1868 street has been recreated in order to showcase the Gamewell fire alarm street box. It was a box used by pedestrians to alert fire stations of nearby fires.  The box fully functions and it is a highlight to visitors seeing the marvels of old fire alerting systems.  Other interesting exhibits include a Mac Engine for children where they can climb on and pretend to drive, displays for the bucket brigades of colonial times, and horse-drawn fire engines with, as Walter described “the most realistic looking horses you could find anywhere.”

In order to keep visitors returning to the museum, some exhibits rotate on an annual basis including a photography gallery featuring various pictures of fires by photographers and a special interest gallery for the upcoming year featuring wild fires. More recently, the museum added exhibits to honor firefighters that have fallen in the line of duty and the heroes of 9/11.  In short, the museum aims to have something to entertain everyone and will hopefully teach them something about firefighters and fires they didn’t know. 

For all the wonders of the museum, the hardest struggle has been getting the public to partake.  Wagner calls the museum the best kept secret in all of Harrisburg and that the cause is in the people’s mindset.  “Everyone thinks to visit museums in far away places, not in their own community” he said. 

There is also the theory that though many people respect firefighters, they don’t necessarily want to learn about their history.  Jason Showalter, photo lab assistant at Penn State Harrisburg, said he had not heard of the Pennsylvania National Fire Museum .  When he was told in detail about it and all it contained, he said, “I have respect for fire departments for without them there would be a lot of pain and hurt in the area.  However, I don’t normally go to museums.” 

Lastly, the museum has not done a lot of promotion and advertising in the past. It aims to rectify that situation starting first with the restoration of a 1935 Mac Hook and Ladder rig that will be used as a “walking billboard” in parades and other public events.

Not everyone is clouded in the smoke about the museum.  Local firefighters are well aware the museum exists and are thrilled that there is a museum dedicated to them and their history.  Jim Clark, Dispatcher No.7 at the Middletown Fire Department, said that although he has yet to actually go the museum, he looks forward to the day he can.  “For me, it’s like a vacation.  I would like to spend the day there,” Clark said.

That is the response Walter wants to hear, though not just from firefighters.  “If you have ever wondered how fires were fought in Ben Franklin’s day to the present, we’re the place to visit,” Walter said.         

For more information on the Pennsylvania National Fire Museum , please call 717.232.8915 or go online at http://members.aol.com/JCW37/FRmuseum.html

All stories in this magazine are the intellectual property of the individual authors.

You may email comments about this story to: mxr300@psu.edu