BELTON, Texas — A piece of firefighter history is making its way to the Bell County Museum.
The Belton Fire Department has chosen to donate its historic hose cart to be displayed at the museum.
”This has been preserved through the fire department for many years and we know how important it is, but we want the rest of the county to enjoy the host card also,” said Chief Jon Fontenot. “So, we donated it to the museum.”
The cart was originally used for fighting fires and hose cart races between competing departments to see who could get them laid out and ready for use the fastest.
Now that tradition will live on at the museum.
”Our museum staff is trained in preserving and conserving historic artifacts,” said Coleman Hampton, executive director of Bell County Museum. “So, if it's not on exhibit, it is being kept safe and preserved and it will have a chance to go on exhibit once everything is arranged.”
The fire service is steeped in historic traditions, and this is a way for the Belton Fire Department to put that on display.
”We wanted to pass the tradition, to pass that history on to the rest of the county,” said Chief Fontenot. “So, this means a lot for us to be able to share this with our community.”
The hose cart will be placed in storage while the Bell County Museum continues building a fire department-themed collection to eventually put on traveling or permanent display.
