Fire Museum of Southern Illinois

[DjInferno]

The Mt. Vernon Professional Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 738 has opened a fire museum in the Times Square Mall in Mt. Vernon Illinois. The centerpiece of our museum is a 1939 Diamond T Fire Engine, purchased new by the MVFD in 1939. We've got cases full of old equipment and uniforms and hundreds of pictures, with more to come.

This got started in late 2009 when the city decided it was going to send the old truck to a surplus vehicle auction because it was taking up space. Our Union started a campaign for the public and within a few days, got results. We had a year to find a place to display/store the truck, off city property. In cooperation with Times Square Mall, our museum was started!

If you're in the area, be sure to stop by! Email me (mvfd85@gmail.com) and I'll try to meet you up there for the grand tour. And, if you're interested, just down the street you can take a look at our 2011 Ferrara 100' platform that we just got.

[jboczek]

I've been there a couple times already but need to go back to see what's been added recently. Once you've seen all the "stuff" there, you'll be going back to your department and looking for anything that is NOT there and offering it to the museum for display. If you're anywhere near the Mt. Vernon area it would be worth your time to stop and browse the Fire Museum of Southern Illinois.