May 22, 2010 marked the two-year anniversary of the devastating tornado touchdown in the Windsor-Severance area. On this anniversary, citizens had something extra special to celebrate, the opening of the Windsor-Severance Fire Museum. The tornado destroyed the first museum facility shortly before it was scheduled to open.
“We were about two weeks away from getting our certificate of occupancy when the tornado hit. The tornado took the roof and destroyed the building. I was really glad we didn’t have anything in there yet,” said Fire Marshall Mike Davis, who helped spearhead the museum effort.
The original museum project began more than 6 years ago when the district board gave their approval to begin the planning process, as long as no taxpayer dollars were used. The community strongly supported the program and many local citizens donated their time and money to design and build the facility. Every piece of the museum comes from volunteers, donations and grants.
“We made a commitment that we weren’t going to use any tax payer dollars and we didn’t use any taxpayer dollars,” said Davis.
After the tornado hit the original facility, and restoration plans began, a group in the community felt the museum should be rebuilt in a different location. Eventually the perfect spot was located near Windsor Lake.
The facility now holds treasured firefighting memorabilia, donated by the district, retirees and private collectors. Two of the crown jewels of the museum are a life-size bronze sculpture of a firefighter and child as well as a 1920’s restored REO Speedwagon fire truck.
The bronze sculpture was hand created by 20 year-old Austin Weishel who is a volunteer firefighter with the Windsor- Severance Fire Protection District. The beautifully detailed sculpture is his first life-sized art piece.
The REO Speedwagon was originally delivered to the fire district back in the early 1920’s, and when word about the museum spread, someone stepped forward to donate the vehicle to the museum. The truck was not in perfect condition upon arrival, and the community held several fundraisers to restore the truck back to its original glory.
Two interns for the Denver University’s Anthropology Department will be working at the museum helping to archive and label the artifacts as well as preparing education information for visitors. Firefighter retirees will staff the museum during the hours it is open.
The museum will be open Thursday evenings from 6-9pm during the summer, and every 3rd Saturday of the month between 10am-2pm. The facility is located at 121 N. 6th St in Windsor. For more information, please contact the museum at (970) 686-5755.