MANSFIELD — Little Buckeye Children’s Museum just opened its very own fire department.
The new exhibit comes fully equipped with turnout gear and a realistic kid-friendly fire truck. Fred Boll, the executive director of Little Buckeye, said the reception has been strong.
“We did a survey with the children who came to the museum and the most requested was something based around firefighters,” he said. “Once we decided to work on a fire truck exhibit I started looking for a partner to sponsor the exhibit and I happened to meet Christie Meyers of Hamilton Insurance.
“Once Hamilton Insurance agreed to be the major sponsor of the exhibit the Mansfield firefighters offered to assist us, a GoFundMe that Little Buckeye ran along with a contribution from Dr. and Mrs. Bruce Jackson also assisted in funding the exhibit.”
Boll also hopes that this exhibit will help relieve some of the fears kids may have about firemen.
“We don’t want children to be scared of firemen, we want them to see them as their friends,” he said.
Neil Hamilton, president of Hamilton Insurance Group, had the honor of cutting the ribbon for the exhibit. He also revealed further details about the process of constructing it.
“My son-in-law, Steve. built the fire truck from a pile of lumber that he bought and he built it in such a way that it could be disassembled, brought to Little Buckeye, and reassembled.”
Daniel Crow, a Mansfield Firefighter, led the firefighters in helping wherever they could.
“We assisted with the design making sure the trucks look like Mansfield trucks, the turnout gear looks exactly like the same gear we wear, the map up on the wall looks a lot like the maps we have,” Crow said. “Everywhere I went in the museum I heard whispers about how great the fire truck looked, how much kids loved it, and how impressed people were with the whole operation. In my opinion the pictures don’t do the exhibit justice.
“It looks amazing in person and anyone can come see the fire truck at 44 W. Fourth St. in downtown Mansfield.”
