It's A Small World After All: Kellogg's Fire Dept. (K.F.D.) - Fire House From Engine House Project - Pt 1 Fire House Memories

I think it best to give you a bit of background info before getting into the nuts-&-bolts of this project. My fascination with fire and emergency vehicles, fire stations, and all that stuff goes back to my childhood. Approx. 200' or so from our house, on the next street over, stood Engine Company 28. The station was built in 1904 (as the capstone above the door indicates and helps in dating the neighborhood I grew up in) and was activated in 1905. The station was located in the Merrill Park district of Milwaukee and I would go in there and visit fairly often. Here's a tidbit of nostalgia: back in the day - 1950s & '60s, one had to go to the local fire station to get their bicycles inspected and to get a license. The licenses were purely voluntary, but it was kind of a public relations thing for the kids to see their local fire fighters.

My uncle Eddie worked at Engine Co. 28 and my parents always said, "He drove the chief." Okay, soooo as an adult trying to put 2-&-2 together he was most likely the assistant fire chief for that station. I had seen him 'in action' at fires in the neighborhood and he was definitely not handling hoses, axes, or other equipment. I saw him walking around and directing other firemen to hot spots needing attention. One fire in particular was a tire warehouse which was ablaze just a couple of blocks away in the Menomonee River Valley - what a stinky fire that was!! And there he was traversing the perimeter and directing the fire firemen.

That being said, I seldom actually saw him in the fire house and I never interrupted his work or ask to see him. One of the other memories I had was that of an old pumper truck (likely '40s or early '50s era) with open cab and split windshield. What a beauty! It was always parked towards the left rear of the station as one entered through the bay door. The photos below are Google street view images from a few years back.

Apparently Engine Co. 28 was in continuous service from 1905 to 2017 when it was deactivated. Now that alone defies all logic as that whole neighborhood was a fire waiting to happen, and growing up in it I saw plenty of them! In any case, somebody with more sense and foresight decided to reactivate it and the station reopened just last year. The full story, along with a history of the fire house, can be found on the OnMilwaukee blog by Bobby Tanzilo. BTW, the capstone with "1904" above the bay door can best be seen in the blog article by Mr. Tanzilo - it doesn't show up well on the Google street view images. Stay tuned for our next installment: Inspiration and planning the fire house. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

Hallmark Fire Station #1 No. 49697 (1999)

Here's yet another set of photos I've been sitting on for years. This Hallmark fire station was really a nice piece but ultimately I ended up with several large stations and decided to sell this one off. Fortunately the photos still remain. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

I tried to get as much of the beautifully detailed interior as I could.

The station is very nicely done, but it isn't very deep and won't accommodate anything but fairly small fire engines. 

The door of the station opens up to reveal a beautifully lithographed interior. 

I can't find my notes on how big the building is, but the truck is a Processed Plastic piece and only about 5" long. The figure to the right is 60mm.

MPC's Take On Western Towns - Pt 5 Cabin v.1 as Fire House - Red/Yellow SP

In previous posts I mentioned the use of a façade on the basic cabin superstructure. Here is one of the examples - a really cool looking Fire House that would feel right at home in an up-&-coming Old West boom town. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

In this view you can just make out the tabs at the very top of each side wall. Those fit into slots in the front of the façade on either side of the doorway. In addition there are tabs behind the front wall itself that fit onto the roof and also in holes on the floor.

Here is a photo from Kent Owen Sprecher's Toy Soldier HQ site,  of a header bag set containing the Fire House. In this set they included a set of 70mm ringhand firemen and a fire cart - not a fire truck!

Courtesy of: Toy Soldier HQ

As an aside, MPC only made one fire truck that would have been appropriate for the Old West, however it was far too big to fit in this small fire house

I love the detailing on the front! Originally, this would have had two doors which have since gone missing over the years, but I'm grateful to have been able to acquire this even as is.

Wyandotte Tin-litho Toytown Fire Station

Just a week after I started this blog this terrific tin-litho fire station from Wyandotte got posted. Back in 2010 I didn't have a standard format and only a few pictures of the building were taken and posted. And I didn't yet have the little plastic fire truck which was originally sold with the station back in 1951. The fire truck was just posted here yesterday and now I'm happy to be able to present a better collection of photos to include a couple of the fire station and fire truck together! I'll bet this toy fire station hasn't seen it's companion piece in decades! Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina