Fund drive underway to expand Nebraska Firefighters Museum

   Nebraska Fire Departments and their Auxiliaries have been generous in donating apparatus, equipment and artifacts to the Nebraska Firefighters Museum and Education Center located on I-80 in Kearney. So much so, the museum has run out of space and is unable to display all of it.

   A committee of museum board members has launched a fund drive to build a 50’ by 100’ addition to the west side of the museum. The goal is to raise $225,000.

   “There just isn’t room to display everything. We have a storeroom that’s full and apparatus are being stored at other locations. We need to do this. It’s been this dimension for 16 years,” Pat Moore of Dakota City, museum committee member and Past President of the NSVFA, said.

   “We have an endless supply of interesting things that tell the history of firefighting in Nebraska. There are retired EMT suits, old air packs, nozzles and more that really need to be shown but can’t right now due to space limitations,” Moore said.

   Displays are changed and rotated out on a regular basis. Apparatus on loan for one year are rotated in October. 

   Currently in the entryway is an 1879 20-man hand pumper from David City. There’s a display of old fire brigade buckets.

   “Imagine the work they went through to fight a fire with buckets,” Moore said.

   There are displays honoring the Auxiliaries.

   “The Auxiliary is a very important part of the fire service. They put up with a lot. Many members are very active and help in so many ways,” Moore said.

   A Smokey Bear Fire Prevention display is always a hit with school children when they tour the facility.

   “I like to watch the faces of the kids when they’re here,” Moore said.

   Jenn Slater has been the museum director for the last five years. A group dedicated to preserving the history of firefighting in Nebraska instigated the idea of a firefighting museum and education center in the 1960s. Moore noted people like Norm Hoeft, Bob Vogltance, Eric Rasmussen and others traveled all across the state for years to promote the project and to raise money.

   Dedicated in August of 2009, the Nebraska Firefighters Museum and Education Board of Directors at that time included: Norman Hoeft, Gregg Erickson, Eldon Moser, Wayne Olson, James Egr, Bob Vogltance, William Lundy, Rhonda Cerny, Delwin Smeal and Lindsay Schluntz, the first executive director. The Design and Development Committee included Gregg Erickson, Joel Cerny, Rhonda Cerny, Marie Hoeft, Eldon Moser, Wayne Olson, Eric Rasmussen, Lindsay Schluntz, Delwin Smeal and Bob Vogltance.

   In addition, the facility also has the Nebraska Firefighter and EMS Memorial featuring upright granite monoliths bearing engraved names, honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Past and present firefighters and EMS personnel are showcased on the black granite tablets and bricks. New names are added to the memorial once a year in the weeks leading to the annual Firefighter and EMS Memorial Service held in September. The Memorial is open from sunrise to sunset daily. For more information or to donate people can go to nebraskafirefightersmuseum.org. Annual memberships are also available to help support the museum.

   An annual gift of just $10 from each registered Nebraska Firefighter allows the museum to share the state’s firefighting heritage and history.

   The Nebraska Firefighters Museum and Education Center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $10 for seniors and adults, $5 for youth ages 3-17 with kids 2 and under admitted free. Museum members are also admitted free. Group rates are available by calling (308) 338-3473. 

   For more information on donating towards the expansion project, contact Pat Moore at (712) 898-2381or any committee member or museum director Jenn Slater at (308) 338-3473, or go to https://nebraskafirefightersmuseum.org.