From Smokey Bear to historic engines, Mansfield Fire Museum prepares for national spotlight

MANSFIELD — Fire museum curators from across the United States and Canada will soon head to Mansfield as the city prepares to host the 35th anniversary National Fire Museum Network Seminar.

The Mansfield Fire Museum will welcome participants from Aug. 16 to 19 for networking, presentations and tours focused on preserving fire service history.

Museum President Verne Bickers said hosting the milestone anniversary is an honor.

“Not only are we honored to host the 35th anniversary, but we hope it will be the biggest one yet,” Bickers said.

Mansfield takes the national stage

The National Fire Museum Network rotates its annual seminar among fire museums across the country, giving curators the chance to exchange ideas and learn new ways to manage and preserve their collections.

This year’s seminar will take place at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center, 890 W. Fourth St., while the Mansfield Fire Museum, 1265 W. Fourth St., will host meals and meetings.

Volunteer Steve Allen said Mansfield’s selection carries national significance.

“It is a great honor to have been chosen to host this event,” Allen said. “Out of the 200-plus fire museums across the country, Mansfield was selected and will get national recognition as this year’s host city.”

Allen said the conference gives museum leaders an opportunity to learn from one another long after the four-day event ends.

“It gives us the opportunity to share how we have our museum set up, how we manage security, and how we catalog and insure its value,” he said. “Being a networking event, we learn from each of them as well. Our goal is to maintain one of the best fire museums in the country.”

(Story continues below images. Firetrucks located inside the Mansfield Fire Museum. Images provided by Steve Allen.)

In addition to serving as a museum, it is the only one in the nation with a stage and facility equipped as a bingo hall.

The museum also houses several artifacts visitors won’t find elsewhere, including one of only two retired original Smokey Bear suits. Once retired, per the forestry service rules, it can never be worn again or it must be destroyed, Allen said.

The collection also includes a ladder truck containing the one-millionth Detroit diesel engine ever produced.

Another truck was the first to arrive at the scene of the 1987 crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in Detroit, where its captain rescued the crash’s only survivor, a 4-year-old girl.

More than a conference

The seminar schedule includes several public moments throughout the week.

Smokey Bear will greet participants outside the Mansfield Fire Museum around 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 16, holding a “Welcome to Mansfield” sign.

Mansfield Mayor Jody Perry and Fire Chief Dan Crow will deliver opening remarks at 9 a.m. Monday, Aug. 17, at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center.

The conference also includes a field trip to the Central Ohio Fire Museum in Columbus and a visit to the Ohio State Reformatory.

Allen said organizers wanted attendees to experience one of Mansfield’s most recognizable landmarks while seeing another successful museum operation.

“We will show them how a landmark can be turned into a museum,” he added. “We also want them to see the industrial museum on site.”

Participants will eat lunch in the prison commissary, where Jerry Miller, president of the North Central Ohio Industrial Museum, will discuss the effort to create the industrial museum and how it aligns with the seminar’s mission.

The conference will conclude with a group photo at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, at the Ohio State Reformatory. 

Organizers will position two ladder trucks in front of the prison with a large American flag suspended between them and display a banner signed by attendees that will later become a permanent exhibit at the Mansfield Fire Museum.

“We have a packed agenda with topics ranging from signage to restoration of antique apparatus,” Allen said.

Preserving Mansfield’s history

Preserving fire service history also means preserving Mansfield’s story, Allen said. He hopes visitors leave with a lasting impression of both the museum and the community behind it.

He pointed to the devastating downtown fire of February 1944, which destroyed two landmark buildings on the public square and permanently changed the Park Street skyline.

“We document the history of the firefighters who battled that blaze along with many more throughout Mansfield’s past,” Allen said.

Volunteering at the museum reflects Allen’s longtime commitment to giving back to the community.

His involvement began when he approached the late Bobby Shook about hosting a fundraiser car show at the museum, a conversation that grew into a lasting relationship with the organization.

He encouraged residents who have never visited the museum to stop in and experience its collection firsthand.

“We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised,” Allen said.