Greensburg Fire Department Museum welcomes public on Night Market dates

Visitors to Greensburg Night Market events this summer can add a tour of the nearby Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department Museum to their plans.

The museum, which features vintage firefighting vehicles and equipment, will be open to the public free of charge from 6 to 8 p.m. this Thursday and on July 27 and Aug. 31.

Those are dates when vendors, food and entertainment will await downtown Greensburg visitors from 5:30 to 9 p.m. along Pennsylvania Avenue, between Otterman and Fourth streets.

The museum, located in the former animal control building behind Greensburg City Hall, normally has two scheduled open dates per month, with other tours scheduled by appointment. Given the museum’s proximity to the Night Market activities, volunteers decided to additionally open it on those occasions to anyone who wants to learn about the department’s history.

“Not a lot of people know the museum even exists, let alone that it is actually so close to everything downtown,” said Lauren Koker, a public relations volunteer at the museum. “We’d like to change that.”

The museum’s 1949 Seagrave Pumper will be parked at the end of South Pennsylvania Avenue during the market events. Visitors will be escorted from the historic engine to the museum from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

“It’s a beautiful red and yellow engine brought out only for special events,” said Koker.

The Seagrave engine was commissioned for Greensburg Hose Company No. 3 by Captain John Edward “Hutch” Hutchinson, who later served as the department’s fire chief for more than 60 years. The Seagrave was reacquired from Westmoreland County Community College and took 30 years to restore to its original condition. It is driven in parades and for ceremonial and public service events.

Opened in 1969, the museum tells the story of the more than 130 years of firefighting in Western Pennsylvania, with artifacts from major fires in Greensburg and surrounding communities. The collection also includes parade uniforms; dive team and bloodhound team memorabilia; a Quecreek Mine rescue display; and a toy room with more than 1,000 models of fire and emergency vehicles.

Normal museum hours are 6 to 8 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month and 9 a.m. to noon on the fourth Saturday of the month. To schedule a tour at another time, call 724-832-7904.

Information also is available by visiting gbgfire.com/museum or visit the Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department Museum Facebook page.

Additional Greensburg Night Market dates are Sept. 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 15 and Dec. 14.