Yorkville resident Claire Augustine’s grandfather was one of the three Aurora firefighters killed during the 1934 fire at the downtown Aurora Woolworth store.
When an exterior wall fell on the men, Capt. John Petersohn, 48, of the Aurora Fire Department died, leaving behind a wife, one daughter, and two sons.
Today, Augustine, a retired nurse who worked at both Rush Copley and Dreyer Medical Clinic, serves on the board of the nonprofit Aurora Regional Fire Museum. She also volunteers weekly at the museum.
Becoming involved with the organization following the Aurora Fire Department’s 150-year celebration in 2006, Augustine said her grandmother saved many artifacts related to the Woolworth fire which she donated to the museum.
Augustine said her father, aunt, and uncle were older when their father died but the two other firefighters who died that day – Capt. Herbert L. Reiss and firefighter Charles Hoffman — left behind young children.
A group was formed in 1987 with a mission to preserve the old Central Fire Station and exhibit the artifacts and history of firefighting in Aurora and surrounding area fire departments.
The Aurora Regional Fire Museum opened in 1990 at the old Central Fire Station, but then temporary closed and reopened again in 2004 after the city of Aurora received a grant from the state to renovate the station.
Mark Baum, the development director for the Aurora Regional Fire Museum, whose father and grandfather were both firefighters who worked in the building, said that “the museum is much more than artifacts. It is a valuable educational resource center.”
In 1980, the city of Aurora built another fire station next door to the old Central Fire Station, Melissa Metzger, a staff member with the Aurora Regional Fire Museum said, because the newer rigs were too large to fit through the doors of the old building.
Firemen still continued to use the old building for training, which added to the wear and tear on the building, she added.
Metzger, who began volunteering with the museum in January to fulfill a service requirement for a class at College of DuPage, often gives tours and fulfills other administrative duties.
Going to school for criminal justice, she said she began to volunteer for the museum in part because family members including her father, grandfather, and several uncles are firefighters.
Metzger, who now is a paid staff member, said that the horse-drawn era of firefighting is her favorite period described in the museum’s tour of Aurora’s firefighting history.
At one time, the building had horse stalls which were later taken out. Years later, four stall doors were found in the attic of the building and refitted to their original stalls, bringing “chills to the workers who renovated” the building, she said.
“Every door lined up perfectly,” she said.
The museum houses 10 pieces of firefighting equipment ranging from a 1850s hand pumper to a 1960s aerial ladder truck. The collection also includes a 1921 Stutz Fire Engine that will be used to carry Santa Claus to light the city Christmas tree Nov. 20, Metzger added.
At the beginning of November, a new exhibit opened on the museum’s second floor in an old bunk room entitled “Teamwork, Brotherhood and Change: Aurora Firefighters 1950 – 1999 in their own words.”
Being a firefighter, Metzger said, is like having a second family.
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“They tease each other, but they have each other’s backs,” she said.
Next up, the museum hopes to create an in-house official library and also create a play area for young children.
Cathy Janek is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News