It only took one moment for more than a century’s worth of historic firefighter equipment and memorabilia to be lost forever.
After midnight on July 18, a vehicle crashed through the front window of the Little Wiz Fire Museum at 326 E. Smith Road in Medina. In a social media post, Thomas Doyle, the curator for the museum, stated that at around 12:10 a.m. he was awakened by a loud crash. Doyle, who lives above the museum, said he was “jolted out of bed” when a vehicle swerved off East Smith Road and crashed through the front of his building.
The driver, a 26-year-old woman ,was hospitalized, Medina police reported. The incident is believed to be OVI-related, police confirmed. As of July 24, the case was still under investigation.
Fire crews were called to the museum at 12:28 a.m., Medina Fire Capt. Steve Ingersol said. No other injuries were reported.
Doyle stated in his July 18 social media post that there was “extensive damage to both the building and the museum collection.”
“Sadly our super rare Charles Hartshorn 1865 Hand Drawn 4 wheel hose carriage was completely destroyed, as was my equally rare 12 circuit Gamewell nickel plated coffin top Repeater,” Doyle wrote. “In addition a nicely decorated late 1800s Chief’s horse drawn buggy from Flint, Michigan was also damaged. Rare pieces of original wooden water mains from the city of Medina Ohio’s Public Square area, from the late 1800s were also destroyed, as was a large vertical Soda Acid Extinguisher on steel spooked wheels was damaged beyond repair. And the most personal collection piece that was damaged was my own Grandmother’s very own 1950’s aluminum Christmas tree.”
The city’s building department and contractors from Walnut Construction of Cuyahoga Falls helped stabilize the facility. Doyle said Joe Greco of Walnut Construction, a longtime friend of Doyle’s, Greco’s father and another employee helped stabilize the building and boarded it up to “keep critters and people from getting in.”
The timing of the crash was particularly bad this year, Doyle said, because the museum was supposed to be on the Historic Home Tour after Thanksgiving.
“There’s just piles of junk from what used to be fantastic pieces of history,” Doyle said.
Thankfully, not everything from the museum’s collection was lost, partially because several pieces were on loan elsewhere, Doyle said.
“The Historic 1916 Hallock Model T was in a different building and has survived,” Doyle stated in a social media post. “The 1913 International High Wheel Auto Wagon was a little deeper into the room and also was spared destruction. My 1880 Wm. Knaust Hand Pump Fire Engine was also on the other side of the room and luckily was spared any damage. … Both my restored 1890 Horse drawn Aerial Ladder Wagon and my 1893 Bucyrus Hose Wagon were off site, luckily still on loan to the Mansfield Fire Museum. Thankfully because of my ‘friendly policy’ to share the collection with other museums, some key pieces survived because they were off site at both the Mansfield Fire Museum and the Cleveland Western Reserve Fire Museum.”
In addition, the building was shored up enough through the work of Walnut Construction and Medina’s fire department so that Doyle did not have to move, he said. This has allowed him to stay at the site “to keep an eye on things.”
The museum will remain closed for several months due to the extensive damage, Doyle said.
“I will say I am deeply appreciative of all the friends and acquaintances that I have made through the years that have helped to ease a lot of the anxiety,” he said.
For now, Doyle has hesitated to ask for donations because he wants to see what insurance will pay first as well as figure out what the museum needs to get back up and running.
“I’m still waiting for the insurance adjuster,” he said in a July 22 interview. “We are at a standstill right now.”
For details of the museum, visit https://thelittlewiz.com online.
Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com. Reporter Anthony Thompson contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Dozens of rare firefighting artifacts destroyed when vehicle crashes into Medina museum
Reporting by April Helms, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
