Mercury County Emergency and Disaster Museum "Never Forget"
In 2015 the new museum opened its doors at 3070 Gibson way.
The museum highlights some of the major disasters local and worldwide, and preserves some old vehicles to show how the emergency services evolved.
The museum highlights some of the major disasters local and worldwide, and preserves some old vehicles to show how the emergency services evolved.
Current collection:
The story of Big Red starts in 1946,
Studdsville Volunteer Fire Department survived the war years, but their single Ahrens Fox NS2
from 1927 was in rough shape after not being maintained well.
So the city council and local businesses all came together and raised the funds for a new pumper.
The choice was made to buy a Ahrens Fox again.
Chief Grumman contacted the sales dept. of Ahrens Fox and a brand new modern Ahrens Fox HT was ordered.
In early 1948 the Fox das delivered to Studdsville by train.
When Chief Grumman looked at the rig for the first time he commented: "Thats one big red firetruck!"
From that moment on the name stuck and Engine 13 was officially known as "Big Red"
The new Fox was really liked by the crews, especialy because it has a enclosed 3 man cab, so the driver could stay dry
and warm when driving in bad weather.
And it had a foam hopper, so Big Red became the first foam capable rig.
The NS2 was kept as 2nd Engine till 1952, when a 2nd Ahrens Fox HT was delivered to be called Engine 14 "Silver Fox"
The NS 2 was used by the newly formed Flying Patrol.
In the years after its delivery Big Red worked several big fires and preformed with excellence.
In October 1955 a big fire broke out in a local sawmill and Big Red pumped for 33 hours straight and at the height,
the pumper worked at full power for hours and several times the engine literally became red hot, but the sturdy pumper
kept on going.
A tanker truck from Octan was driving off and on with fuel to keep Big Red topped off.
In 1961 Big Red made the difference at the Octan refinery when Chief Grumman ordered Engine 13 to lay a foam blanket
over a giant pool of leaked fuel, while refinery units were batteling the main blaze,thus Big Red and it's crews
prevented the original fire to spread and avoiding a disaster.
In 1963 Chief Grumman retired, but not after driving around town one last time in Big Red.
The new Chief wanted to modernise the fleet yet again, and new pumper a Mack model C was delivered in 1965
and served as Engine 13.
But the Legacy of Big Red was far from over.
In 1949 a special group of highly expierenced volunteers was selected and was called the Flying Patrol.
The Flying Patrol was meant to bring experts to the scene of big and complex fires and rescues.
After the front line retirement of the Fox in 1965 the Commander of the team selected Big Red as their primary
rig so the badly beat up Ahrens Fox NS2 could retire.
In 1974 the Flying Patrol used the Fox with great succes in containing the fire on board the coal ship "The Spirit"
which caught fire while docked in Studdsville Harbor.
In 1977 at a warehouse fire in Buddyburg a sudden explosion wounded 2 Flying Patrol members and damaged Big Red.
Both members survived, and Big Red was repaired.
In 1978 the department recieved 2 Ward Lafrance pumpers and the Mack C went to the Flying Patrol.
Big Red was stored at the motorpool, and was used sporadically as a reserve and parade piece, until 1986 when the
city council sold off the parade rigs.
So Big Red went off radar, assumed scrapped.
But in 2013 a Captain of SVFD volunteered as a mechanic to work on the collection of a fire truck collector and restorer.
And in one of the storage locations he found a old Ahrens Fox HT with no markings.
After checking the serial number he was shocked to see it was Big Red.
The SVFD Officer and retiree club contacted the owner, and purchased the rig.
Big Red was in a rough shape, and was sent to Studdsville Specialty Vehicles for repairs and restoration.
But none of the SSV mechanics ever worked on a Ahrens Fox so the rig was sent to Van den Hoof Restaurations.
Big Red was completely restored to its old glory.
68 years after its delivery, Big Red is back and will be a parade piece for SVFD.
Studdsville Volunteer Fire Department survived the war years, but their single Ahrens Fox NS2
from 1927 was in rough shape after not being maintained well.
So the city council and local businesses all came together and raised the funds for a new pumper.
The choice was made to buy a Ahrens Fox again.
Chief Grumman contacted the sales dept. of Ahrens Fox and a brand new modern Ahrens Fox HT was ordered.
In early 1948 the Fox das delivered to Studdsville by train.
When Chief Grumman looked at the rig for the first time he commented: "Thats one big red firetruck!"
From that moment on the name stuck and Engine 13 was officially known as "Big Red"
The new Fox was really liked by the crews, especialy because it has a enclosed 3 man cab, so the driver could stay dry
and warm when driving in bad weather.
And it had a foam hopper, so Big Red became the first foam capable rig.
The NS2 was kept as 2nd Engine till 1952, when a 2nd Ahrens Fox HT was delivered to be called Engine 14 "Silver Fox"
The NS 2 was used by the newly formed Flying Patrol.
In the years after its delivery Big Red worked several big fires and preformed with excellence.
In October 1955 a big fire broke out in a local sawmill and Big Red pumped for 33 hours straight and at the height,
the pumper worked at full power for hours and several times the engine literally became red hot, but the sturdy pumper
kept on going.
A tanker truck from Octan was driving off and on with fuel to keep Big Red topped off.
In 1961 Big Red made the difference at the Octan refinery when Chief Grumman ordered Engine 13 to lay a foam blanket
over a giant pool of leaked fuel, while refinery units were batteling the main blaze,thus Big Red and it's crews
prevented the original fire to spread and avoiding a disaster.
In 1963 Chief Grumman retired, but not after driving around town one last time in Big Red.
The new Chief wanted to modernise the fleet yet again, and new pumper a Mack model C was delivered in 1965
and served as Engine 13.
But the Legacy of Big Red was far from over.
In 1949 a special group of highly expierenced volunteers was selected and was called the Flying Patrol.
The Flying Patrol was meant to bring experts to the scene of big and complex fires and rescues.
After the front line retirement of the Fox in 1965 the Commander of the team selected Big Red as their primary
rig so the badly beat up Ahrens Fox NS2 could retire.
In 1974 the Flying Patrol used the Fox with great succes in containing the fire on board the coal ship "The Spirit"
which caught fire while docked in Studdsville Harbor.
In 1977 at a warehouse fire in Buddyburg a sudden explosion wounded 2 Flying Patrol members and damaged Big Red.
Both members survived, and Big Red was repaired.
In 1978 the department recieved 2 Ward Lafrance pumpers and the Mack C went to the Flying Patrol.
Big Red was stored at the motorpool, and was used sporadically as a reserve and parade piece, until 1986 when the
city council sold off the parade rigs.
So Big Red went off radar, assumed scrapped.
But in 2013 a Captain of SVFD volunteered as a mechanic to work on the collection of a fire truck collector and restorer.
And in one of the storage locations he found a old Ahrens Fox HT with no markings.
After checking the serial number he was shocked to see it was Big Red.
The SVFD Officer and retiree club contacted the owner, and purchased the rig.
Big Red was in a rough shape, and was sent to Studdsville Specialty Vehicles for repairs and restoration.
But none of the SSV mechanics ever worked on a Ahrens Fox so the rig was sent to Van den Hoof Restaurations.
Big Red was completely restored to its old glory.
68 years after its delivery, Big Red is back and will be a parade piece for SVFD.
After a big warehouse fire in Buddyburg in 1977, which wounded 2 firefighters and damaged a Studdsville fire truck,
(E-501 Ahrens Fox HT "Big Red") the Fire Department and city council reviewed the capabilities of the current apparatus.
It was deemed that the 4 Engines witch each had a pumping capability of 1000 GPM, were underpowered to deal
with the more complex fires that were appearing in the city and in its surrounding area's.
Later that year Studdsville Fire Department ordered 2 Ward LaFrance P-80 Ambassador pumpers.
These new Engines were powered by a 1500 GPM Hale pump and offered extra storage space in the body compared to the
Mack C and ALF 900 Engines.
Also the Ward was the first SVFD Engine to be staffed 24/7 by paid firefighters instead of volunteers.
The Wards fought the good fight untill 1985, when Engine 14 was totalled responding to a brush fire near Studdsville bridge.
The Engine was overtaking some traffic when a car came onto the emergency lane hit the Engine which ended up in a ditch.
Three firefighters were transported to the hospital, one firefighter and the 87 year old car driver were not injured.
The wreck of Engine 14 was towed to the motorpool and was deemed repairable, but Ward has gone bankrupt in 1979 and spare
parts were hard to come by.
So the Engine was declared totalled, and was cannibalised to keep Engine 13 running.
The cab and pump still sit in the motorpool till this day and plans are made to mock it up and store it in the county's
Fire and Disaster museum.
The 1965 American LaFrance took over the role as Engine 14 till 1986 when the new Mack CF's were delivered.
Engine 13 became a reserve piece, and went to the Flying Patrol (See Note).
In 1991 the Flying Patrol was disbanded and was re-established as Squad 17, the old Ward was their first rig.
In 2008 the rig was retired when a American LaFrance Eagle became Squad 17.
The Ward was brought back to the motorpool and was kept in running shape.
In 2013 the rig was overhauled by Studdsville Specialty Vehicles and delivered back to SVFD as a parade piece in 2016.
But the Ward is still capable of doing its job, and Chief Meijdam noted: "If the shit hits the fan, we might have no choice
then to staff the Ward and let it come to the scene"
Note: The Flying Patrol was established in 1949, and was made out of volunteer firefighters who had specialist training in
several area's of firefighting, like industrial fire, rescue, HAZMAT etc.
The Flying patrol served untill 1991 when the specialties were absorbed into Rescue 5 and the newly established Squad 17.
(E-501 Ahrens Fox HT "Big Red") the Fire Department and city council reviewed the capabilities of the current apparatus.
It was deemed that the 4 Engines witch each had a pumping capability of 1000 GPM, were underpowered to deal
with the more complex fires that were appearing in the city and in its surrounding area's.
Later that year Studdsville Fire Department ordered 2 Ward LaFrance P-80 Ambassador pumpers.
These new Engines were powered by a 1500 GPM Hale pump and offered extra storage space in the body compared to the
Mack C and ALF 900 Engines.
Also the Ward was the first SVFD Engine to be staffed 24/7 by paid firefighters instead of volunteers.
The Wards fought the good fight untill 1985, when Engine 14 was totalled responding to a brush fire near Studdsville bridge.
The Engine was overtaking some traffic when a car came onto the emergency lane hit the Engine which ended up in a ditch.
Three firefighters were transported to the hospital, one firefighter and the 87 year old car driver were not injured.
The wreck of Engine 14 was towed to the motorpool and was deemed repairable, but Ward has gone bankrupt in 1979 and spare
parts were hard to come by.
So the Engine was declared totalled, and was cannibalised to keep Engine 13 running.
The cab and pump still sit in the motorpool till this day and plans are made to mock it up and store it in the county's
Fire and Disaster museum.
The 1965 American LaFrance took over the role as Engine 14 till 1986 when the new Mack CF's were delivered.
Engine 13 became a reserve piece, and went to the Flying Patrol (See Note).
In 1991 the Flying Patrol was disbanded and was re-established as Squad 17, the old Ward was their first rig.
In 2008 the rig was retired when a American LaFrance Eagle became Squad 17.
The Ward was brought back to the motorpool and was kept in running shape.
In 2013 the rig was overhauled by Studdsville Specialty Vehicles and delivered back to SVFD as a parade piece in 2016.
But the Ward is still capable of doing its job, and Chief Meijdam noted: "If the shit hits the fan, we might have no choice
then to staff the Ward and let it come to the scene"
Note: The Flying Patrol was established in 1949, and was made out of volunteer firefighters who had specialist training in
several area's of firefighting, like industrial fire, rescue, HAZMAT etc.
The Flying patrol served untill 1991 when the specialties were absorbed into Rescue 5 and the newly established Squad 17.