Firefighters Take The Role Of Modern Heroes
Fort Wayne Firefighter's Museum Preserves Fire Engines, Vintage Photographs & Equipment From Over The Past 200 Years To Show How The Profession Has Evolved
“Everyone runs away from fire. We're kinda weird: We run into them,” said Firefighter Dennis Giere. The Fort Wayne resident is Vice President of the Board of Directors for the city's Firefighter's Museum, located in 10,000 square foot building that used to be a four bay fire station. With old fire engines, vintage photographs and equipment from over the past 200 years, the museum highlights the history of firefighting, “showing us how we got to where we are now and helping us continue to keep people safe.”
The building used to be a two bay station back in 1893. That was back when fire departments used horse drawn equipment. One side of the museum was rebuilt to look identical to how it appeared back in the 1890s, complete with horse stalls and old carriage doors. And then, of course, there's the steam engine itself.
That's Giere's favorite item in the museum.
“I just can't imagine what it would have been like to ride one of those things, with smoke coming out of the top and steam blowing,” he said. “And the fact that the one we have here is just as powerful as the firetrucks today. Our trucks today in the city will pump 1250 gallons of water a minute, 1100 a minute! That part of it – the truck that supplies water – really hasn't changed. What changed is how we get there.”
Fort Wayne's fire department started back in 1839, before horse drawn equipment – and before Fort Wayne's government was even formed. The museum includes an 1848 hand pumper from that era. Then there's the horse-drawn steam engine and chief's buggy. It then moves into motorized equipment, giving guests a visual of the evolution of firefighting.
Even though the city's well preserved artifacts are spectacular to observe and learn about, Giere said they're not what usually stand out in visitors' minds the most.
“Probably what amazes people the most isn't so much the past, but the present,” he explained. “We have a collection of the firefighter gear that we wear today. Manaqueins have it all on. To see how thick the gear is and how heavy it is... On average, we're going into a fire carrying 70 pounds worth of equipment, not counting hoses or axes. It's heavy, hot thick gear to protect us from heat.”
And if anybody knows anything about facing a fire head on in this gear, it's Giere.
He grew up in a small town in Ohio, where his father was a volunteer firefighter. He can easily remember going with him to see the firehouse and the firetrucks.
“I still get excited when I hear a firetruck go by to this day,” he admitted.
Following in his father's footsteps, the passionate firefighter pursued a career in firefighting, which lead him to Fort Wayne 28 years ago. And he's never looked back.
What keeps him going?
The challenge.
“It's not easy to do,” he explained. “It's challenging to go in and fight this enemy that's so dangerous and hard to get to. On the other side of it, you're helping people. I also got into EMS around time for basically the same reason.”
Despite his long career, Giere said he has a hard time recalling any certain moments that stand out to him. Mostly because the stories are not happy. “We have a saying in fire service,” he continued. “Your worst day is our every day. Every day we're going to help somebody who has been in an accident or their house is on fire.”
But one fire in town does stand out to Giere and everybody else in Fort Wayne.
In 1993 a Catholic church downtown was struck by lightning. The bolt hit the steeple. The call to the fire department came in at one in the afternoon and they were there until the sun went down. It was an all-day fire that burned the building completely down.
“I still remember watching this historic church burn down,” re called Giere. “We initially had some ladder trucks up, throwing water at the top. One got close enough that the guys were able to cut holes in the roof to get into that attic space to put the fire out. Stand back and throw water at it. The construction of the church made it impossible to get up to the top from the inside. You really can't get on a roof if there's fire under it. It was tough to get to. There were four walls left at the end of the day...”
Most of the time, the Fort Wayne fire department will be able to work their way in and save most of the house. But the church had to be completely torn down and rebuilt. Still, the firefighters had gone where nobody else would dare go in an attempt to save the building.
“The museum lets you see the history of those who are out there protecting the community,” said Giere. “Everybody has a fire department protecting them. To see how far they came and what they still do to protect citizens...”
Olivia Richman
A graduate of East Connecticut State University in Journalism, Olivia has written for Stonebridge Press & Antiques Marketplace among others. She enjoys writing, running and video games.
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