Did you know that there was a fire museum in the wilds of Kentshire? No? Well, that’s okay, because until today, neither did I. (That’s not to say that it is only okay for you to not know things that I don’t know either, but am trying to show some solidarity here – no disparagement was intended)
Anyway, the aforementioned fire museum is located at the headquarters of the Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS). Unfortunately, however, it may not be there for very much longer, as those chaps at the KFRS (look at me and my shiny acronyms!) are considering closing the museum, because of a lack of space at the headquarters. They also said that the attraction was suffering from poor attendance (possibly because no-one knows it is there?!) as well as an unsuitable building. The building itself is a prefab hut – a throwback to the post war temporary houses – and is therefore possibly not the best location for a collection of priceless artefacts. Also, the building is fairly remote, and there is a distinct lack of parking – none of which entices the casual museum-goer.
KFRS say that they need more space at their headquarters for the teams of staff who need to be working there in order to run the fire service. At the moment, they do not have the room to accommodate them, and therefore they are looking at all the options to solve this problem – one of which is to close the museum, and use that space for staff.
There is, naturally, some outspoken opposition to this plan. Fire service historian Roger Mardon is adamant that the collection at the museum should be kept together. He says that the country’s heritage is in danger of getting lost in the name of efficiency and cost-saving. He thinks that the public should be looking to the public authorities to preserve what is left.
The museum currently opens for one day per week, and the artefacts housed there include video footage of blazes, archive photographs, a steam fire engine and a hollowed-out tree trunk which was originally used as an underground water main.
The fire service has proposed that an e-museum be created, with information about the artefacts being displayed online, while the actual objects themselves would be moved to other existing museums.
The final decision about the future of the fire museum is being made today by the county’s fire authority – time will tell…
