By James V. Horrigan
Staff Writer
Scarborough has a fire museum?
One can be forgiven for not knowing there was one, never mind that it’s located in the rear of the North Scarborough Fire Station. There’s no sign out front, no paid staff, no gift shop, no Web site and no endowment. A Google search brings up plenty of hits, but they all relate to a fire museum in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.
“There’s hardly anybody that pays attention to it,” said Capt. Ken Kennedy, a 29-year veteran of the Scarborough (Maine) Fire Department. “We have open house here on occasion and we’ve had people call that want to come in and take a look, but visitors are far and few between.”
In some ways however, Kennedy is relieved by the lack of attention given to the specially-designed bay that houses a restored 1937 fire truck and an array of helmets, nozzles, tools, photographs, two-way radios and fire extinguishers that combine to form one of the town’s lesser known tourist destinations.
“We’ve had people from out of state stop in who hear we’ve got an old fire truck,” Kennedy said. “There’s a whole group of people who go around taking pictures of old fire apparatus.”
But when it comes to local groups, such as Scarborough schoolchildren, Kennedy doesn’t exactly put out the welcome mat.
“We really can’t because the place is such a mess. It was supposed to be a town-wide project and it kind of started off that way but then it fizzled out,” Kennedy said of the motley collection of memorabilia and artifacts he began assembling almost 20 years ago.
When the North Scarborough station was built in 1988, Kennedy fought to have space set aside to display his hodge-podge repository, which also includes a wooden fire brigade wagon, dozens of trophies won in firemen’s musters and a large Smokey the Bear, “Only you can prevent forest fires” billboard.
“The bay was designed to house the truck but over the years we’ve acquired so much stuff that you can barely even walk through it. The room’s kind of jam-packed,” he said.
Though space is at a premium, Kennedy said he’s always on the lookout for additional items, but admits at this point new acquisitions have to be pretty significant.
“There’s people out there that would like to give us more but we just don’t have a place to put it,” he said.
Kennedy calls the 1937 Ford Seagrave fire truck the museum’s star piece.
“It was bought by the Prout’s Neck Association, the first factory-built truck purchased for the town,” he said.
Every year on the Fourth of July the truck is brought back out to Prout’s Neck for the parade, Kennedy said.
“It lasts about a whopping 15 minutes and about 50 kids chase us on bikes the whole time,” he laughed.
In addition, the ’37 Seagrave  – which was last restored in 1974 – is in every Memorial Day parade in Scarborough and makes frequent appearances in the Yarmouth Clam Festival parade, as well as several parades associated with county fairs.
But that’s not all.
“We take it to funerals, too,” said Scott Krum, a Scarborough firefighter since 1995.
Kennedy said that when firefighters die, the old truck is often used in the burial procession.
“We’ll haul the casket in the back,” Kennedy said.
Although Kennedy usually drives the Seagrave, others have taken a try at it, including Krum, who admitted having difficulty with the gears.
“I couldn’t get the shifting down. There was a lot of grinding and stuff when I drove it,” Krum said.
Kennedy understood his frustration, saying they don’t make fire trucks like they used to.
“You’ve got to double-clutch it. It’s an old, old transmission with square cut gears. No slipping into the next gear unless you’re good at it like Clayt,” he said of Clayt Skilling, a 50-year veteran of the Scarborough Fire Department, who remembers when the Seagrave was still fighting fires.
“It didn’t come out of service until long after I came here,” Skilling said.
Kennedy said he recalls it being used to fight fires until about 1962. Modern fire apparatus carries up to 1,000 gallons of water and pumps at a rate of 1,500 gallons per minute (gpm). The Seagrave made do with a 100 gallon tank and 500 gpm pumper.
Although Kennedy and his fellow jakes volunteer their time maintaining the 1937 truck, he said the Scarborough Fire Museum has tried hanging a sign on the truck as it takes part in parades, in an effort to generate donations.
“It would be nice if anybody has an interest in restoring an old vehicle. It needs a set of fenders, a windshield, the battery’s a bit weak and it’s a little temperamental. But it just needs some work. The fenders are the big thing,” Kennedy said.
Those interested in helping finance restoration of the 1937 Seagrave fire truck, or having items they wish to donate to the Scarborough Fire Museum, should contact Capt. Ken Kennedy at the North Scarborough station, 839-5987.
Learn more about fire museums in the U.S. and Canada at www.firemuseumnetwork.org.