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Firefighters Museum Is A Step Into History

Tribune photo by JAY NOLAN

Jace Kohan, museum board VP and firefighter captain, stands near a 1949 Mack Type 75 truck in the soon to open Tampa Firefighter's Museum.

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By SHERRI ACKERMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 1, 2008

TAMPA - Fire Chief Walter Mathews liked to stand up in his Hudson Touring Car while his driver charged to fires.

The brazen act eventually cost Mathews his life in 1929. While speeding to the burning Alhambra Café on Franklin Street, one of his cars collided with an aerial truck at the corner of Cass Street and Florida Avenue.

The crash catapulted Mathews from the front seat and threw him beneath the truck. The accident made the front pages of The Tampa Daily Times and Tampa Morning Tribune.

It's just one of the many stories you'll discover as you wander through Fire Station No. 1, now home to the Tampa Firefighters Museum.

More than a decade in the works, the firehouse museum in all its red brick glory opens today at 1:30 p.m. Admission is free.

The building, at 720 E. Zack St., was built in 1911 and served as Tampa Fire Department's headquarters until 1978.

Step inside and marvel at beautifully restored original hardwood floors and ceilings.

Visitors are greeted first by a 1940s-era watch booth where a firefighter stood on alert 24 hours a day, seven days a week manning the nerve center of the station.

An alarm bell would sound when a fire was in progress, prompting a paper tape recorder to punch out a series of holes that provided a record of the fire's location. A switch would slam down to turn on all the station lights, igniting firefighters to jump into action, slide down the fire pole and ride off to fight the fire.

Gamewell Alarm System

The elaborate system, known as the Gamewell System, was developed around 1911. The city installed call boxes so residents could pull a lever that triggered the system. It remained in service until the 1950s. At one time, there were more than 300 such boxes, which were finally removed in 1981.

Behind the big bay doors sits a shiny red 1949 Mack Fire Truck originally owned by the Tampa Fire Department, which later was renamed Tampa Fire Rescue.

"We always have used it," said Fire Rescue Capt. Jace Kohan, a 23-year veteran Tampa firefighter whose father was on the job in Illinois and whose son joined the Tampa outfit three years ago.

The truck has ferried firefighters at parades and dead firefighters at funerals. Just beyond its front tires are deep grooves that cut horizontally across the concrete floor.

"Those were so horses could get traction," Kohan points out.

As vice president of the museum board, he has waited a long time to show off the hard work of volunteers who organized in 1997 to create the memorial. Former Mayor Dick Greco agreed to lease the city-owned building, formerly used as office space, for $1 a year — "only to be used as a museum," Kohan said.

Historical grants and donations helped pay for $1.4 million in renovations, which included an addition to accommodate an elevator and restrooms. The museum received about $900,000 two years ago to complete the inside, which boasts a banquet room, gift shop and children's educational play area.

Tribute To Fallen Firefighters

Another room features a tribute to fallen firefighters. A video shows Tampa fires. Covering the windows are screens with pictures of firefighters at work throughout the years.

Along one wall is a line of plaques engraved with names of firemen. Underneath are the histories of each firefighter's death. There were traffic accidents, heart attacks and even a case of hepatitis C.

"Some died not wearing seatbelts," Kohan said. "Some died not wearing gloves. We learned a lot over the years."

Some deaths still carry deep wounds. On Aug. 4, 1981, a disgruntled former firefighter, Anthony D'Arcangelo, shot at four workers in the new firehouse across the street from Station No. 1.

District One Fire Chief Franz G. Warner was shot in the heart and died instantly. Firefighter Isaac Royal died five days later after being shot in the stomach. Another firefighter, Richard Barrett, survived a bullet to the back. The building superintendent, Charlie Pasco, escaped unscathed.

D'Arcangelo pleaded insanity and was found guilty Feb. 3, 1982, of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison, where he remains today.

Above the plaques is a quote by Ambrose Redmon: "Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."

For information on the museum, call (813) 274-7043 or (813) 274-7041, or go to www.tampagov.net/dept_tampa_firefighters_museum/.

Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at (813) 259-7144 or sackerman@tampatrib.com

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