(1/1) On Dec 18th, the National Fire Heritage Center (NFHC) announced the resignation of Emmitsburgian Wayne Powell from his position as Executive Director of the NFHC. Mr. Powell was a founding member of the center and was instrumental in the growth and prosperity of the NFHC since its founding in 2007. Mr. Powell submitted his resignation at the Center’s annual meeting in October. Powell’s resignation came on the heels on the election of a new President for the Center, Bill Kilen.

Powell had previously retired from the U.S. Fire Administration prior to taking over his leadership role in the creation of the NFHC. Powell also has served in multiple leadership roles in the Vigilant Hose Company and is a recognized, well-respected leader in the Frederick and Maryland fire fighter community.

The Board of Trustees for the NFHC named Mike Dixon of Elkton, Maryland as Powell’s replacement. Dixon joined the Elkton Fire Company in the late 1960s. Today, he chairs the company’s museum committee and is the editor of the Maryland State Firemen’s Association newsletter.

One day before Powell’s resignation took effect, the Cecil County local newspaper - The Cecil Whig - ran a story indicating that Emmitsburg may be soon saying goodbye to the NFHC.

Sam Goldwater, Trustee for the NFHC, told the Whig that: "relocating to Elkton, MD, specifically taking occupancy at the Elkton LTC James Victor McCool Armory, may be the best option for the Fire Heritage Center in the future."

According to the Whig, "Goldwater came before the Cecil County Board of Commissioners earlier in December to make his case for the move and explained to Elkton officials that the center is growing in artifacts and ambitions, triggering a need to expand."

The story caught many in the local fire community off guard, including Powell, who had worked tirelessly with Frederick County and Emmitsburg Officials, to bring the NFHC to Emmitsburg.

Prior to the establishment of the NFHC in 2005, there was no centralized, coordinated archival activity in the United States to ensure that important fire materials were saved in an accessible way. Much of the written history of "fire in America" was challenging to locate or, unfortunately, forever lost. Historical documentation that did exist was held in private collections where access was difficult or materials were not properly preserved.

Under Powell, the NFHC effort has been designed to support existing fire libraries, which generally contain documents of the second half of the 20th Century, or fire museums, which often contain limited written materials for ready reference or only hold materials specific to one locality, thus they are not national or global in scope.

When first launched, the original concept was referred to as "Heritage Hall." The NFHC of today is a more encompassing organizational title, which can be thought of as a central repository of significant written history of the fire services and fire protection disciplines from throughout our nation’s history.

The NFHC opened in Emmitsburg on October 14, 2011 in the rear of the County Fire Museum located at 300 South Seton Avenue, which once served as the Emmitsburg Community Ambulance Service.

The NFHC’s goal has been to preserve and ensure access to important print materials detailing the nation’s fire services. Fire insurance companies, fire equipment and apparatus manufacturers, fire and building code administrators, technical writers including leaders with the nation’s fire press, fire departments, and related organizations and individuals have their documents preserved here for future use by researchers and other interested parties.

With a near non-stop flow of documents into the center, the center’s archives are now spread over three locations. In an effort to consolidate all its archives the Center has been working actively with the town of Emmitsburg to secure a larger space.

But it appears some in the NFHC hierarchy are unwilling to wait.

In discussing the need for the move, Goldwater told the Whig: "’We anticipate we will be double in size by 2020, and we’ll outgrow our facilities by then. We’re at critical mass, if you will, on the timeline of having to make big decisions on where we’re going to be now and into the future,’ Goldwater told the Commissioners. ‘[The armory] is an absolutely perfect building for us. It has the right amount of office space, working rooms downstairs and place for materials. It’s really a perfect building for us.’"

The Whig also reported that Goldwater told Commissioners, "A larger space would give the center more room for artifacts, noting the armory’s current ground-level gymnasium could be used for exhibits of antique fire engines brought in by the National Fire Museum Network. Moving to the armory could also open possibilities of partnering with the Smithsonian Institute to exchange artifacts," he added. "The additional space would also give the center the ability to create a research center."

News of the move hit the national fire community, which sees NFHC’s location in Emmitsburg "a natural synergistic fit" given that Emmitsburg is home to the National Fire Academy. Emails, phone calls and messages of support for the center staying in Emmitsburg have been pouring in since the Whig broke the story.

Emmitsburg Mayor Don Briggs is strongly opposed to any type of move away from Emmitsburg. Both the Frederick County Government and the Town of Emmitsburg actively supported the NFHC. The Museum and the Heritage Center do not receive any taxpayer funding to operate. Heritage Center staff, made up mostly by local Emmitsburg residents, do most of the repairs and maintenance under an arrangement where the NFHC pays 20% of facility's operating costs.

If the NFHC Trustees opt to move the center, they must first find funding, no easy matter in the budget-constrained organization, not to mention personnel to man a new facility.

Most of the work done at the NFHC is now done on a volunteer basis by local Emmitsburg residents. One of the key reasons for Powell’s resignation was the failure of NFHC leadership to secure extra manpower to ensure the NFHC could continue to fulfill its mission. But his request for additional support went unanswered.

In an attempt to garner some answers, President Bill Killen of the NFHC as well as Sam Goldwater were contacted. No response was received from Goldwater in regards to this subject. Killen replied that he was unable to supply more information regarding this matter at this time.

Killen has left unanswered the one question fire fighters across the county are asking – why leave Emmitsburg, which, because of the U. S. Fire Academy and the National Fallen Fire Fighter’s Memorial, attracts hundreds of thousands of fire fighters from across the country, not to mention the huge loss the move would bring to education of the students and faculty of the National Emergency Training Center – and move to Elkton, which might – might – draw firefighters who happen to be driving between Philadelphia and Baltimore?

It makes no sense to us.

If the NFHC should relocate to another facility outside Emmitsburg, it will join the list of other attractions like the National Civil War Memorial and the John Armstrong rifle exhibit that have either left Emmitsburg or never came to fruition over the past few years.