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Heritage network goes from strength to strength |
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Fire Heritage Network UK, the organisation founded in Sheffield in 2004 to link the several brigade museums, heritage centres and interest groups across the country, is continuing to grow in both numbers and stature.
In October, the Network held its Annual General Meeting and seminar at Hamilton, courtesy of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, with the weekend’s activities being hosted by the Strathclyde Fire Brigade Preservation Group. Some 49 delegates from all parts of England and Scotland were in attendance and, as well as the conference business, were able to inspect the site of the proposed Greenock Fire Museum, currently at feasibility stage but which is confidently expected to open within the next two or three years. Members were delighted to learn that the past year had seen two new Fire Service museums opened at Grays and at the Fire Service College. In November, a Museum Skills and Collections Care training course was organised at the Fire Service College which lasted three days and covered several different disciplines relevant to the care and protection of museum objects and archives. Accredited, professional trainers provided the instruction which came free of charge to the participants, thanks to two generous grants from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and the Fire Service Research and Training Trust. Classroom sessions covered the storage and handling of objects, environmental controls, correct documentation procedures, dealing with backlogs, marking and labelling and the preservation and treatment of photographic items.
The last afternoon of the course involved a behind-the-scenes visit to the Heritage Motor Collection museum in Warwickshire, to learn about restoration and presentation techniques. Students attending represented several brigade museums, independent fire museums, a fireboat preservation group, the major national group for private preservationists and three organisations hoping to open new fire museums in the future.
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