Historical September 1990 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Fire safety will be the emphasis of the History Museum’s Seventh Annual Fire Engine Rally on Sunday, October 7 at the Jefferson Memorial Building in Forest Park.
The event opens Fire Prevention Week.
The morning parade of over 100 pieces of firefighting apparatus will include Safety Houses, antique hose carts, steamers, pumpers and new rescue trucks and fire engines. Activities will begin with the arrival of the parade at the Jefferson Memorial Building. Firefighters will unroll their hoses and prepare their pumpers to draft water from a nearby lake in Forest Park, and private owners and fire departments will ready their apparatus for display. Teams of firefighters will compete in contests of skill, such as the popular water fight and bucket brigade. Prizes will be awarded to tournament winners and to owners of vintage fire trucks in the best condition.
The members of the St. Louis Area Fire Educators (SAFE) are planning demonstrations of fire safety and skill.
They will promote the use of smoke alarms and fire extinguishers, and a talking fire plug, Dalmatian fire dog and robot will instruct children in fire safety.
The Fire Engine Rally is organized by the Missouri Historical Society, which operates the History Museum, and is sponsored by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The annual event began in 1984 in conjunction with the museum’s exhibition on volunteer firefighting in mid-19th century St. Louis and has grown to be one of the largest in the United States.
Original photograph caption
The Seventh Annual Fire Engine Rally at the History Museum in Forest Park opens Fire Prevention Week on Sunday, October 7. Beginning at 9 a.m., the parade leads old and new fire trucks to the Jefferson Memorial Building for display and pumping throughout the day. Above, the St. Louis Fire Department’s 1951 Mack Truck at the 1989 Fire Engine Rally. Photographer not credited. The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, September 1990, page 7.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, September 1990.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1990_09.pdf, printed page(s) 7; PDF page(s) 6.
