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History Lives In Firehouse

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By CHRIS ECHEGARAY and VALERIE KALFRIN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 2, 2007

TAMPA - A silver megaphone honoring the heroism of volunteer firefighters in Ybor City in 1889 sat on Joe N. Perez's mantel for a dozen years.

He said his grandfather, Norberto Mabruga, and other volunteers had saved a business from burning to the ground on Sept. 10, 1889. The megaphone was passed down through the years from relative to relative.

When Perez heard of the city's new firefighting museum at 720 Zack St., he offered to display the megaphone there. It was among several items shown at the museum Thursday when sponsors, donors and community leaders took a tour. The public grand opening is planned for January.

The building once housed a city fire station, built in 1911.

"Way back, they had horses pulling the hoses back then," Perez, 71, said.

Perez said he worked at the station when he was a firefighter for three years in the 1960s.

The station has been closed since 1977, when a new headquarters for the city's fire department was built across the street, according to Tampa Fire Rescue.

Reluctant to let go of a piece of history, a group of devotees established the museum board in 1995 to restore the building and convert it into a museum and safety center, Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Bill Wade said.

Wade estimated the renovations have cost more than $1 million. Representatives of Fireman's Fund Insurance and Halcyon Underwriters presented a $25,000 grant for a fire-safety exhibit at the museum, he said.

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