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Campaign co-chairmen along with Smeal are Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy and former Kearney Mayor Ron Larsen.
Sheehy said on Wednesday that firefighters are the backbones of
Nebraska's communities, and all of them, paid or volunteer, are professionals.
"There are 458 fire departments in our state," Sheehy said.
"This project, with its emphasis on education and fire
prevention, has the potential to benefit every person and every
community in our state. It is also a wonderful way to honor the
over 12,000 firefighters who protect our lives and property."
Wood River firefighter/paramedics Brian Urbom and Craig Falmlen
attended Wednesday's press conference and were happy with the
plans presented.
"From what I saw in there, I'm pretty impressed," Urbom said.
As a member of a volunteer department that lost two firefighters in
the line of duty last year, Urbom was impressed with plans to
memorialize Nebraska firefighters. He said he also likes the
idea of having a way to educate schoolchildren and the general public.
"I think it will be really educational all the way around," Urbom said.
He feels the facility will be a good place for schools to visit on
field trips and he is looking forward to furthering education
about firefighting and fire prevention.
Falmlen said a lot of people don't realize the amount of training firefighters go through.
Urbom agreed and said he would also like to see cleared up the
misconception that a person sleeping through a fire will smell the smoke and wake up.
The first sense to shut off in a fire, and the last one to come
back, Urbom said, is a person's sense of smell.
Falmlen was glad to hear that the educational exhibits will
change on an ongoing basis, rather than remaining static.
Alan Sherwood, president of Sherwood Consulting Service, said
the goal is to draw students to the educational center from at
least a 125-mile radius. He said, "The educational component is
going to be huge for young and old alike."
Sherwood's company conducted the feasibility and planning study
for the museum/educational center, and he said it will benefit
every fire department and every community statewide. A portion
of the building will be dedicated to providing tourist
information to Interstate 80 travelers, and the exhibits will
reflect the history of firefighting across Nebraska.
Sherwood said each community will be asked to come up with and
hold one fund-raising event and donate the net proceeds to the
capital campaign. A fire chiefs advisory committee has been
formed as well and will work to give everyone in the state an
opportunity to help the project financially.
Though the dream for a museum/educational center has been alive
for a number of years, most of the real progress occurred over
the past few months. Last year, the Nebraska Firefighters
Foundation Board, made up of nine members from across the state,
decided the statewide museum should be located in Kearney.
In September, the board purchased a 10-acre site with two existing
buildings along the Platte River just south of Kearney and
Interstate 80. The board last March approved moving forward with
a campaign goal of at least $3.5 million.
About $2.2 million will be used for the remodeling of the two
buildings where the museum will be located, Sherwood said. The
rest of the $3.5 million will be used to start an endowment
fund, create educational exhibits and pay for the land and the
first year of operation.
Sherwood said the hope is to have the capital campaign completed
by early next year, to break ground in the spring of 2006 and to
open by the summer of 2007.
How to help
For more information on how to contribute to the Nebraska
Firefighters Museum and Education Center, call (308) 234-3077 or
e-mail deweed@charter.net. |
