OUR BIG DAY

Tomorrow, Thursday, Jan 28th is our BIG DAY at the Great Park Board meeting, 10 AM, at the Irvine City Hall. The Great Park Design studio will present our Feasibility Study to the GP Board. We need everyone to come and show support for our Fire Museum Safety Center project. Please bring an old fire helmet to show your support. We have been working at this for over 5 years!! A positive vote from the GP Board will set aside space at the Great Park for our fire museum safety center.

California Fire Museum at the Great Park

Calif Fire Museum at the Great Park (update)

CFM at the Great Park (note date change)
The California Fire Museum (CFM) is on our way to a long awaited Feasibility Study presentation to the Great Park Board at their January 21 (Change to January 28) Board meeting at Irvine City Hall. CFM has been working towards this presentation for years!!! I want to especially thank Dave Hubert and Barbara Hubert for their timeless effort and support towards this huge project.This Priority Program Feasibility Study has been a unbelievable in depth study that has meant many many meetings and information gathering to provide all the information needed to complete this high level study. We now have in our hands the draft copy of this report, 265 pages of information, maps, drawings, photos and figures. Dave, Barbara and myself have gone over this report and made a few corrections, changes and suggestions for the final copy. On January 15 we will meet with the Great Park Design Studio staff and go over the final report and how it will be presented to the Orange County Great Park Board on January 21, 2010. (Change to January 28) This will be a deciding moment for CFM and the culmination of eight years of hard work by our board of directors, many GP board meetings, GP Stakeholder meetings, CFM Board meetings, Great Park events, GP Staff one on one meetings, piles of correspondence, meeting with possible sponsor groups and endless behind the scenes research and work.We started with hopes of an existing building at the old El Toro Base and are now looking at a possible multi million dollar 31,600 sq ft building in the future.If the Great Park Board votes in our favor on January 21, (Change to January 28) we will be in line for something really Great.If you would like to hear the feedback and the final outcome of the vote by the Great Park Board we encourage everyone to attend this most important meeting for CFM.We are now joined by the Orange County Fire Historical Society (OCFHS) in our endeavor to build this Fire Museum Public Safety Learning Center at the Great Park. CFM & OCFHS are in the last stages of a merger which will join our two organizations together into one.

OCFHS & CFM Merger Underway

Yesterday the Orange County Fire Historical Society and the California Fire Museum sat down with an attorney to begin the process of merging the two organizations into one. The attorney laid out the proposed timeline for the merger. It is expected to take about three months if all goes well. Some of the items the two organizations need to decide on will include: A new combined board, President, Vice Pres., Secretary and CFO, number of directors, which bank to keep, new name, Logo, type of membership and dues levels, bylaws and other aspects of an organization. Next merger meeting will be held in mid June and the boards will approve the material terms of the merger. After yesterday's joint merger meeting, a workshop was held and the two boards worked through most of the list of items, making good progress. Both boards are very excited about the merger because it will bring less duplication of work, one fund-raising effort, combining of assets and a larger, more focused work force. All have agreed this is a good thing!!

Monday, May 4, 2009

The California Fire Museum (CFM) and the Orange County Fire Historical Society (OCFHS) are working on a possible merger of the two organizations. Both have the same goals, which is to build a fire museum & safety center here in Orange County.

The push at present is to build the fire museum - safety center at the Orange County Great Park. CFM is presently in the process of putting together a feasibility study managed by the Great Park Design Studio. By CFM & OCFHS joining forces this will give us a much better work force and also better for our fund raising.

Stay in touch through this blog for updates on the merger and the feasibility study with the Great Park

We also are now on Twitter for quick updates at www.Twitter.com/CalifFireMuseum

Let us not forget

The “California Fire Museum / Public Safety Education Center” (CFM) has plans to honor the heroic efforts of our firefighters who protected lives and property during Firestorm 2007. Our plans are to build an exhibit entitled the “Wall of Flame” which will feature large photos showing the heroic efforts made by our firefighters from fire agencies throughout California. The “Wall of Flame” will depict all facets of firefighting, including: Dozer operations, hand crews, air operations, paid & volunteer firefighters, all fire service agencies (City, County, State, Federal, reservations, private and all support groups. Featuring all those who have come together to fight the catastrophic conflagrations that have plagued California. CFM will highlight the history of all the fire storms which have raged our state since the beginning of time. When the smoke clears, we must not forget what our firefighters have done time and time again to protect life and property from the devastating Santa Ana Devil Winds.
To build this exhibit to honor our heroic firefighters and our Public Safety Education Center to educate our young, we need your help. CFM is about to be considered for inclusion into the Orange County Great Park in the Museum District. We hope to acquire an existing building to house our fire museum/safety center. To do this we need your help in two ways.
First, we need everyone to contact the Irvine City Council and the Great Park Board to let them know you support and endorse the California Fire Museum /Public Safety Education Center to be included in the Great Park at the former MCAS El Toro Base. The Great Park Board will soon be reviewing over 60 requests from organizations who want to be a part of the Great Park. Their decision on who will be chosen to participate will be based on which organizations have the most following and can contribute the most to the Great Park. CFM has formed a coalition of fire service organizations and support groups to further our chances to be included in the Great Park.
You can make a big difference. Please call, Write or e-mail them today with your support for the California Fire Museum at the Orange County Great Park. For contact information and to keep up with the progress go to their web site at: www.ocgp.org or Irvine City Council at: www.ci.Irvine.ca.us we also have the endorsement and support of the Great Park Conservancy. You can contact them at: www.OrangeCountyGreatPark.org

Second We need contributions and sponsors for our building fund, plus any firefighting memorabilia. The Orange County Fire Services Association (OCFSA) has committed $50,000 to start our building fund, plus we have a number of fundraising efforts underway. To make a contribution to our building fund and the Wall of Flame exhibit to honor our heroic firefighters, please contact Don Croucher at 949-493-8718 or crowncoach@aol.com. CFM address: 34681 Calle Fortuna, Capistrano Beach, CA. 92624. Visit our web site at: www.californiafiremuseum.org.

Listed below is our CFM support coalition.

1) Orange County Fire Services Association. (OCFSA)
2) California State Firefighters Association. (CSFA)
3) Orange County Fire Historical Society. (OCFHS)
4) Crown Firecoach Enthusiasts. (CFE)
5) Antique Fire Apparatus Club of America. (SPAAMFAA)
6) Orange County Professional Firefighters Association. (OCPFA 3631)