EMMITSBURG, Md. – Representatives of the fire services
unveiled plans for a county fire museum and a national fire
service archive at the Dec. 4 meeting of the town board of
commissioners.
J.C.
“Robby” Robertson, who was instrumental in the
establishment of the national fire training center in Emmitsburg
in the 1970s as liaison for the governor’s office
and the state fire marshal’s office, announced the
plans, along with Clarence “Chip” Jewell, Director
of the Frederick County Bureau of Emergency Communications.
In
brief, plans call for saving the current ambulance headquarters
located adjacent to the Community Center on South Seton
Avenue, and remodeling the building to take on the appearance
of an old-time firehouse. The front portion would be occupied
by the county fire museum filled with firefighting artifacts,
including an 1835 Rumsey hand pumper used to fight the courthouse
fire in Frederick in 1861. The archive would be at the rear
of the building and hold national documents and other written
materials concerning the fire service.
Emmitsburg
selected as “best site”
Robertson
told the commissioners that the entire county had been canvassed
looking for a potential site (including downtown Frederick
City), but that Emmitsburg ultimately became the prime location.
The
minutes of the board of directors for the proposed center,
he said, “reflect that very clearly we see Emmitsburg
as the site for this endeavor … There’s no better
place in the country to have the development of this center.”
The
purpose of the museum, dubbed National Fire Heritage Center
(aka Heritage Hall), would be “to archive the history
of the fire service in America,” and major fire service
organizational and private collections have already committed
to donating their memorabilia to the proposed center.
Robertson
said the concept of the center “is based on Army Heritage
Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania … We see it primarily
to archive material referred to in the field as two-dimensional
materials, (including) reports, manuals, correspondence,
and photographs of the history, not only of the fire service
in America, but the fire protection equipment field.”
The
proposed museum should “draw people in who have a
great interest in the fields covered, and (being) within
the U.S. 15 tourist traffic area, this would draw people
in,” Robertson pointed out.
Ambulance
building could be used
Jewell
told the commissioners, “This partnership has come
together as a strong possibility and a strong reality. We
are the heart of the fire service in the state of Maryland
(because of the age of some of the fire companies).”
The
BEC director stated, “We are hoping that building
can be made to blend into the community … possibly
made-over as an old firehouse. It seems to be a natural
marriage to make that building more appropriate (rather
than be demolished).”
“You
have to have a beginning,’ Jewell added, “This
will be a wonderful centerpiece for the fire service. What
better place to put it than a block away from the fire academy?”
The
director told the commissioners, “We have not formally
gone before the county commissioners yet,” but the
knowledge “is in Winchester Hall,” adding, “We’re
very enthusiastic.”
Robertson
said, “The progress is going to take a while. We hope
the (fire-related) industries involved in it will support
it,” he said.
The
board asked Robertson and Jewell to keep the town apprised
of developments.
