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Oregon Fire Service Museum |
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| In The News NEW |
More Bricks Added!
Walk of Heroes
Memorial Bricks
Good
News
Oregon Fire Museum Receives a $50,000
Grant from the Meyer Memorial
Trust.
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learn more
Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
October 9, 2006
Contact:
Jerry Heater, President
Oregon Fire Museum
1284 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97305-2019
mail@oregonfiremuseum.com
Oregon Fire Museum
in Urgent Need of Assistance
Over 677 years of Oregon fire service history is on the verge of becoming homeless. The board of the Oregon Fire Service Museum, Memorial, and Learning Center was told during the October board meeting that space which has been graciously donated to house a large part of the museum's collection is now need for other purposes by its owner.
Ten historic fire vehicles, along with miscellaneous equipment, must quickly find a new home.
While the fire museum board has been working for years to raise the funds to build a museum, the museum's collection has been stored at various locations throughout Western Oregon, including fire agencies, barns, sheds, and donated warehouse space.
After nearly a decade of fund-raising, the museum has raised $150,000 towards the $402,000 needed for the first phase of museum construction. Phase I is the construction of a 12,220 square-foot building at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon, which would be used to store the museum's permanent collection.
"Our situation right now is critical," notes museum Board President Jerry Heater. "We don't have our own building, but we still have to store and preserve this collection. These vehicles and equipment are a huge part of Oregon's fire history, and we have one shot at hanging on to them."
Museum officials explain that their dilemma is raising every dollar they can to construct a building. The need to rent storage space for the historic vehicles would be a major set-back to the construction effort.
The fire vehicles soon to be homeless range from a 1889 Rumsey hand pumper to a 1958 American LaFrance. Most are of 1930s and 40s vintage. Museum Vice President Larry Blumenstein said, "Our goal is to display apparatus, equipment, and tools that span the Oregon's entire firefighting history. If we don't get a permanent building funded soon, many of the earliest artifacts that are yet to be donated to the Oregon Fire service Museum, may be sold to private collectors or museums in other states."
"What we need, quite simply, is money," says Heater, "and, in the short term, storage space."
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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Oregon Fire Museum is excited to announce that, thanks to a generous donation from the Meyer Memorial Trust, we are $50,000 closer to raising the $402,000 needed to construct the first phase of a replica fire station museum at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon.
Depicted in this concept painting by Jim Lienemann, the first phase will construct the 94x130 foot apparatus display area that will house the museum’s collection of antique firefighting equipment (the back half of the building depicted). The Museum has raised $142,000 in grants and in-kind donations toward the museum construction project. This generous grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust is the first large grant awarded to Oregon Fire Museum. We are excited about our success in obtaining this grant and are actively seeking additional funding from other grant sources. Ongoing funding to sustain the museum will come from fund-raising events, museum memberships, and sales at oregonfiremuseum.com. Oregon Fire Museum holds a 99 year lease on a portion of the 62 acre site at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon. The 62 acre site includes which includes a diverse set of museums and heritage clubs has grown over the years to now entail fourteen organizations with a wide range of interests. Included are activities related to blacksmithing, fire apparatus, electric railroads, miniature railroading, and model railroading, Caterpillar equipment, antique cars and motorcycles, early-day trucks, large steam engines, steam operated cranes, and local history. The Museum grounds are open for general visitation Wednesday through Sunday from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. April 1- October 31 and from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Nov. 1 to March 31. Exceptions occur in conjunction with the Great Oregon Steam-Up and other scheduled events. A $2.00 fee is charged to enter the grounds. Individual museums on the grounds may or may not be open and may require a separate admission fee. Western Antique Powerland Museum is located in Brooks Oregon. 1/4 mile west off of Exit 263 on I-5 (about 8 miles north of Salem) Take I-5 to exit 263. Go west 2 blocks on Brooklake Rd and you will see us on the north side of the road. To learn more about the Oregon Fire Museum, please visit us at http://www.oregonfiremuseum.com .
Salem, OR – May 18,
2006 -- 12, August 30, 2005
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