all of Flame
Museum of
Firefighting
What's New at the Hall of Flame
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The 62 Firehouse Magazine Rescue Award winners for
2003 are now posted on this web site. The site also includes the winners for 1997, 1998, 1999,
2000, 2001 and 2002.
Are you a member of the Hall of Flame?
All of our members at the Firefighting Professional, Black Helmet, Red Helmet,
and White Helmet levels are now listed on a new Member
Recognition Page.
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Check out the Museum's new Wildland
Firefighting Page. It has pictures and descriptions of our Wildland Firefighting
Gallery which opened in August of 2003. |
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This web site was extensively redone in
June of 2009. Among the most important changes are:
 | Copies of the
Hall of Flame's Newsletters are now available on this site.
To view the Newsletters go to
the Home Page and click on the Newsletter titles, or go the the Table of
Contents Page and click on Newsletter Page. |
 | Many of the
photos on the website have been replaced by higher resolution photos.
Most people now have internet connections and processors that can
accommodate higher resolution pages that require a lot of pixels. Our
original photos were inserted when broadband width was much narrower.
They were not large files, but their quality suffered. |
 | Photos and citations of the
Firehouse
Magazine Rescue Award winners for 1997, 1998,1999,2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. The same
information as that which appears on the walls of the Hall of Heroes
Gallery. Almost 600 firefighters are recognized. Go to the Hall
of Heroes Page to see these firefighters. Citations and photos of
firefighter heroes for 2004, 2005 and 2006 are in the process of being added
to this website. |
 | A new page
describes the many education
programs at the museum. Local teachers and parents: check out
this page and schedule a tour! |
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 | In December of 2001 we formally opened a
permanent memorial exhibit to the 343 New York City firemen who died in the
attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Almost a
thousand people attended the dedication. Pictures of the ceremony and
the exhibit are on the National Firefighting Hall of
Heroes page.
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 | Photos of almost all of the wheeled pieces
in the exhibit. Go to the Hand and Horse Drawn
Page or the Motorized Page to see these photos.
Many of these photos have been replaced by upgraded versions with higher
resolutions. |
 | In 2003 the museum began to digitally
restore a selection of high quality but damaged photographs from the
archives. We have also begun to catalogue the thousands of photo
negatives of Chicago fires taken by Chicago newspaper reporters over the
years 1920 - 1984. Some of the restored photos as well as a sampling
of Chicago scenes are displayed in the
graphics page here: Graphic Objects |
 | The
museum hosts Saturday birthday parties for up to thirty children that
includes a wide range of activities guarantied to appeal to
kids. Go to our Birthday
Parties page for further information. |
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Fiesta Bowl Parade
| Every year since 1977 the Hall of Flame
has provided one or more rigs in the Fiesta Bowl Parade. The Bowl Committee
rides on the Hall's 1930 Ahrens-Fox Quad. The museum also provides
additional rigs for Fiesta Bowl Committee functionaries. |
Museum founder George
F. Getz Jr. drove
the Fox until 1990, when he delegated the job to his grandson, also named George
Getz. When Mr. Getz died in 1992, George succeeded him as museum
president. |
Recent Accessions and Restorations
1948 Mack Model 45 "District" Fire Engine
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In
Don's ShopI |
Museum volunteer Dick
Stuve prepares to drive the Mack into Gallery II. |
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In April of 2004 we received an addition to
our collection of Macks -- a Model 45 Fire engine built in 1948 for the city of
Pierre, South Dakota. In 1939 Mack introduced the Model 45 as the largest
of a new class of fire engines called the District Pumpers. Mack wanted to
capture the branch of the fire department market that included small towns and
volunteer fire departments unable to afford Mack's usual line of apparatus. The
smallest District Pumper, the Model 25, mounted a 250 gpm pump on its front
bumper. The Model 45 was by far the most popular District Pumper, and
after World War II all District Pumpers except the Model 45 were
discontinued. The 45 was a popular engine. Several hundred were sold
until its discontinuation in 1949. All District Pumpers were equipped with
an L head six cylinder engine built by Continental.
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Our engine is rated at
130 horse power, with a 500 gpm two stage pump, a 150 gallon booster tank, and a
hose bed with a capacity of over 1000 feet of 2 1/2 inch hose. The rig has
a 2 1/2 inch pre-connect behind the hose bed. It also has a storage unit
atop the booster tank that was used for a 200 foot length of pre-connected 2 1/2
inch line. It weighs in at about 10,000 pounds. After a long career in
South Dakota the rig was sold to individuals in Arizona who used it to give
rides to children at a local amusement park.
We are very grateful to the Mack Trucks
Historical Museum in Allentown, Pennsylvania for providing a large amount of
information about the rig.
The rig went on permanent exhibit in April
2005. It is fully restored to running condition.
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1908 Anderson Coupling Company Chemical
Engine, Ex - Phoenix FD
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| Don Hale with
the restored chemical engine |
On exhibit in
the Wildland Firefighting Gallery |
| In May of 2005 Don Hale began a complete
restoration of one of the museum's chemical wagons - a 1908 engine that was used
by the volunteers of Phoenix, Arizona from 1908 to 1914. The maker was the
Anderson Coupling Company of Kansas City, Missouri. The company
specialized in hose and hose couplings, but sold a range of other fire
appliances. The copper chemical tanks are of the Champion style. The
wagon looks very similar to those sold by the Fire Extinguisher Manufacturing
Company of Chicago. It is possible that Anderson simply placed their
manufacturer's plate on a FEMA machine. Where the wagon spent the years
from 1914, when it was retired in favor of a couple of Seagrave chemical cars,
to 1938, when it was purchased by a Phoenix firefighter, is unknown. |
Firefighter Simpson, who later became chief of the department, loaned it for use
in parades. For a number of years he loaned it to Gene Autry's museum in
Orange County, California. In 1969 his widow sold the wagon to museum
founder George F. Getz, Jr. Mr. Getz had the rig refurbished, and it was
displayed in that form at the Hall of Flame. Don completed its
restoration in 2006. Since chemical engines were commonly used
as fast attack rigs at brush fires, we have placed it in the Wildland
Firefighting Gallery. |
New Addition to Hall
of Heroes 9/11 Memorial
| The Phoenix Fire Department recently
donated a piece of the World Trade Center to the National Firefighting Hall of
Heroes. The fragment was presented to PFD Chief Alan Brunacini by the
Retired FDNY Firefighters of Phoenix in recognition of the service performed by
the PFD's Urban Search and Rescue Team at Ground Zero in September and October
of 2001. |
Chief Brunacini thought it most appropriate to display the piece
at the Hall of Flame. The piece is now on permanent exhibit in the Hall of
Heroes, adjacent to the Memorial Pony, as well as panels honoring the
firefighters, police, and Port Authority police who died on 9/11. |
Museum Volunteer Donates
Defibrillator to the Hall of Flame

| Volunteer Richard Landon and his
wife Marilyn recently donated a state of the art Philips Heart Start portable
defibrillator to the museum for use in the event that anyone at the museum
suffers cardiac arrest. Many public buildings are purchasing the
defibrillators, which are quite expensive, which are designed to be used by
untrained people to re-establish a victim's heart beat. |
Survival rates for
victims who receive speedy defibrillation are much higher than those who receive
only CPR prior to the arrival of paramedics. The Landons donated the
defibrillator in the name of their nephew, David S. Bacon Jr. Mr. Bacon
was a certified flight paramedic who died in the crash of a life flight
helicopter in Spartansburg, South Carolina on July 13, 2004. |
1955 Seagrave Quad
From Oak Lawn, Illinois

The Quad is on permanent exhibit in Gallery III.
| In June of 1998 the Museum accepted the donation of
a nicely restored Seagrave "Quad" fire engine from the fire department of Oak
Lawn, Illinois. The rig is an "Anniversary" model, and was
delivered to Oak Lawn in 1955. It has over 200 linear feet of aluminum ground
ladders, a 500 gallon booster tank with two electrically powered booster reels, and a
1,500 gpm single stage centrifugal pump. Its hose tray can carry 1,500 feet of 2 1/2
inch hose. It was fully reconditioned in 1981, including a Cummins V-8 diesel engine
matched to the original drive train. |
The department needed to free up space in its fire
house for new equipment, and one of its assistant chiefs had visited the Hall of Flame and
recommended it as a place to exhibit the rig. Hall of Flame volunteers Ron Deutsch
and Ralph Glasmann flew to Oak Lawn to take formal delivery. The rig was driven in
this year's Fiesta Bowl Parade, and will probably appear in the parade for many years to
come. |
1968 HCB
Angus/ERF
Pump-Escape
| In August of 1998 we received an English fire engine
built in 1968 by HCB/Angus on an ERF chassis. The rig belonged to the
Nottinghampshire Fire Brigade and served the town of Retton for about twenty years.
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Eichorn bought the rig and restored it mechanically. They donated
it to the museum, and it came by ship to Port Hueneme, California, which is about 20 miles
north of Long Beach. Museum Director Peter Molloy and volunteers Ron Deutsch and
Dave Riley drove the rig from Port Hueneme to Phoenix. |
It has already appeared in
several parades. Mr. Eichorn equipped the rig very well, and it is fully
functional. Don Hale repainted the rig in late 1999. Its closed cab has room for six
firefighters, and it has a 750 gpm single stage centrifugal pump. It is powered by a
6.5 liter Perkins V8 diesel engine. Most distinctive is it 55 foot
Merryweather "Escape" ladder, which is rolled from the engine's rear
and maneuvered into position. |

Executive Director Peter Molloy with the ERF on the
waterfront at Port Hueneme.
| Don Hale repainted the rig in late
1999. He also repaired the fiberglass body and rebuilt a few of the
rig's many wooden sections. |
The ERF is a popular attraction at many
local events. |
1915 Robinson Fire Engine

| In October of 1998 the Hall of Flame received a rare
Robinson fire engine on loan from the town of Gila Bend, Arizona. The rig was bought
from the St. Louis manufacturer in 1915 by the mining town of Globe, Arizona, and sold to
Gila bend around 1940. After a few years it was retired and left in storage.
In 1993 the firefighters of Gila Bend began its restoration, and the project was
completed in 1997. |
It has a 1,000 gpm rotary pump and a large hose bed. It apparently did not have a
chemical tank. It is powered by a 1,000 cubic inch six cylinder T-head
engine. Only one other Robinson engine is known to be in existence. It is
owned by the town of Staunton, Virginia, and has been fully restored. |
1947 Seagrave Canopy Cab Fire
Engine
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| In Early 1999 Museum Restorer Don Hale
completed the restoration of a rig that ALCOA donated in 1982 -- a 1947 Seagrave canopy cab
fire engine. It was owned originally by the volunteer fire department of
Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. Originally green, the Vandegrift volunteers painted it in
a brown color scheme around 1960. It was sold a few year later to ALCOA, which used
it as an industrial fire brigade truck in its plant near Pittsburgh. On its
retirement the company shipped the rig to the museum as a donation. |
The rig is now
restored with its original color and striping scheme. We were
fortunate to obtain its Seagrave delivery photos from Seagrave historian Matt Lee.
The rig is equipped with a two stage 750 gpm centrifugal pump and a 300 gallon booster
tank. The booster is sited below the large cab. Four firefighters can easily
sit on the tank, and two can ride in the cab itself. The rig is engined with the
small Seagrave V-12 gasoline engine. It is in excellent mechanical condition. |
1969 Mack Model 600 CF Fire Engine
| In June of 1999 Volunteers Ron Deutsch, Ralph
Glasmann, Dave Riley and Dick Stuve flew to Chicago to take delivery of a 1969
Mack CF fire engine from the Calumet City, Illinois |
Fire Department. The
rig is in excellent shape, and was extensively refurbished about 15 years
ago. |
 |
With Dick Stuve at the wheel, the Mack stops for a photo op
at the Arizona State line. |
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Dick Stuve demonstrates the 1,250 gpm pump. |
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From left to right: Ron Deutsch, Ralph Glasmann, Dave
Riley and Dick Stuve pose with the Mack. The four volunteers drove
the rig, with a chase car, from Calumet City, Illinois to the Museum. |
1905 Chief's Buggy

| In January of 2002 Don Hale completed the restoration of a 1905
chief's buggy built by Peter Pirsch of Kenosha, Wisconsin for the Chicago
Fire Department. CFD donated the rig to the Chicago Museum of Science and
Industry. |
In 1964 the MSI donated the buggy as well as a CFD hose
wagon to the Hall of Flame. The rig is on permanent display in
Gallery 1.
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1909 Seagrave Hose Wagon
| In 1957 Museum founder George F. Getz,
Jr. purchased a hose wagon from a private individual in Michigan.
The rig was purchased in 1909 by the Fire Department of Petosky, Michigan from
the Seagrave Fire Apparatus Company of Columbus, Ohio. Sometime during the
1920s it was sold as surplus to a private individual, where it received
indifferent treatment. Its condition did not permit its exhibit, so it was
in storage until September of 1999, when it went into Don Hale's shop for
restoration. |
Matt Lee's excellent books on Seagrave were a great
help. Don also had the good experience of restoring a similar Seagrave
wagon for the San Luis Obispo, California FD during the 1970s. The
restored rig, complete with lanterns, ax, foot gong and fire extinguishers was
placed on the floor in April of 2000. |
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| Don Hale at work on the Seagrave ladder wagon. The
running gear was original, but the upper chassis required a lot of
rebuilding. |
On display in Gallery 1 |
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