Fire-fighting museum the hottest destination in town

Getting ready to dismantle and throw out the old kitchen, Chris spied a brass helmet gathering dust on top of the cupboards.

“Bluey’s wife saw how excited I was and said she didn’t want it in the house any more and that I could have it, along with his belt, axe and hammer,” said Chris.

A few hundred dollars later, the 70-year-old Coolamon retiree was the proud owner of an 1884 brass firefighter’s helmet and his burning passion for collecting fire- fighting memorabilia was well and truly ignited.

“After that I was always on the lookout for anything associated with firefighting,” said the former on-call firefighter, who’s been collecting for more than 30 years.

The lucky find is one of several serendipitous events that led to Chris amassing one of Australia’s largest personal collections of fire memorabilia and opening the Coolamon Fire Museum – host of the Engine Muster every October.

And what better place to house it all than the old fire station, decommissioned in 2013, which Chris now leases? “You couldn’t get it any better,” he said.

The first thing that strikes visitors is just how much Chris has packed inside the tiny brick 1930s building, which has been kept in its original condition complete with oil stains on the floor.

Among the thousands of items on show are 171 helmets, fire hydrants, extinguishers, model fire trucks, medals, uniforms and a 120-year-old hose reel cart.

In another stroke of luck, Chris recently stumbled upon the original Coolamon fire station bell, long thought lost. “It had disappeared for more than 30 years after it was given to the Methodist church,” he said. “When the church was sold, one of the fellas on the committee told me where it was and asked if I wanted it back, so we snuck in and got it.”

With the help of volunteers the bell was reinstalled in its proper position. “It finishes the museum,” Chris said.

One of the rarest pieces in the collection is a 300-year-old wooden fire bucket from Sweden. “I got this from a man who decided to sell his fire memorabilia and collect push bikes instead.”

Chris recalls wearing a black wool uniform (called lion tamer suits) and white plastic helmets when he joined in 1979. “Now they have breathing apparatus and telecommunications built in.”

Much of the other gear has also changed over the years. “One of the old fire hoses I have here is 40ft long and made of leather. Now the engines are bigger, they carry more water and have rescue equipment on them too.”

If you go...

THE Coolamon Historical Fire Engine Muster is on October 1, 10am-4pm. There will be historical and vintage fire engines on display as well as old army trucks, police cars and a historical pushbike collection celebrating 200 years of bike racing.

Coolamon is half an hour’s drive north-west of Wagga Wagga. The drive from Sydney or Melbourne to Coolamon is about five hours. You can also fly or take a train to Wagga Wagga and rent a car. A Saturday train service from Sydney stops in Coolamon.