The County Line
Fire fighting history has a home in Hamilton County. It’s found at the Carmel Fire Buffs Museum located at 210 First Ave. SW, Carmel. Nine classic fire trucks and other firefighting equipment from the 1920s to the 1960s are on display for the public in the only such collection in central Indiana aside from one in Indianapolis.
Some of the most interested visitors are the hundreds of Carmel elementary school students who tour the facility each year. They are allowed to climb into the trucks for a “hands on” feel of the vehicles. Visiting hours are irregular, but generally if the doors are open, visitors are welcome.
The museum is housed in what was once Carmel’s only firehouse, built nearly 70 years ago entirely by volunteers and community contributions. After the death of longtime fire chief Donald Swails, it was named in his honor. The building was replaced as fire headquarters in the late 1980s by a new, larger facility.
The Swails station was then taken over by the Fire Buffs organization. The group’s volunteers, headed by retired Assistant Chief Jim Martin, work almost constantly restoring equipment and upgrading the building and a large garage behind. The most recent project involves restoration of a former CFD truck rescued from a Kentucky junkyard. Financing the operation has come largely from the Clay Township administration which granted $80,000 to improve the property. The upgrades include a terrazzo floor in the main building and new overhead doors on the multi-bay garage. Terry Prather, treasurer of Fire Buffs, says talks are underway to acquire the garage from the city which also owns the firehouse, but leases it to the volunteer organization for $1 a year.
The museum is virtually in the heart of major redevelopment along the east side of the Monon corridor, but officers feel the old firehouse is safe. Prather says the Fire Buffs enjoy good relations with the city and township. Besides local government help, financial assistance is always appreciated and some is received from groups or individuals.