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THE FIRE
SERVICES NATIONAL MUSEUM
TRUST:
How It All Began...
The
beginnings of the drive for a National Museum of Firefighting go back to
the late 1970's. At that time, Maurice Cole, an enthusiast of all things
fire service, approached Reg Haley, then Chief Fire Officer of
Bedfordshire, to see if some organisation could be formed to preserve
historic and significant firefighting and rescue vehicles, equipment and
memorabilia for posterity.
From this early start was born The Fire Services National Museum Trust.
During those first years, the Trustees sought and received much advice
from a wide range of organisations. Fire brigades, both local authority
and private, were asked to donate suitable items as they became available.
Before long, the genesis of today's large national collection started to
come together. In those days Trustees often clocked up quite a mileage
travelling up and down the UK when formally accepting pumps both large and
small, ladders of all shapes and sizes, together with a host of different
yet historic firefighting equipment from ages past.
Storage quickly became a problem. Fortunately, The Royal Air Force Museum
at that time had its storage base at RAF Cardington, in Bedfordshire. The
assistance of the RAF, together with the subsequent user of the site -The
Fire Research Station -was immensely helpful as the size and scope of the
collection grew and grew.
During the Museum Trust's formative years and the continual search for a
suitable museum location, many professional bodies gave the Trust their
support. These included the Home Office, The Chief and Assistant Chief
Officers Association, The Fire Brigades Union, The National Association of
Fire Officers, The Fire Protection Association, The Institution of Fire
Engineers, and The British Fire Services Association.
From the enthusiasts ranks came The Fire Brigade Society and The Fire
Service Preservation Group. And full encouragement was also given by the
employers of the fire service -the various local authority associations,
together with a large number of individuals who where simply interested in
seeing the establishment of a permanent UK fire museum.
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