Tucked behind the Bethel Volunteer Fire Department's building sits a little-known museum filled with equipment, some dating to the 1800s, from departments across the country. Newspaper clippings and photographs from fires in the Bethel area and other parts of the country line the three-room museum.
Old-fashioned hooks and ladders from 80 to 90 years ago hang on the walls. Hose nozzles from different eras sit in cases. About 25 helmets from Europe and the United States are beside more than 200 toy fire trucks Walter Dugdale, a member of the fire department for about 55 years, has accumulated since childhood.
Dugdale collected many of the artifacts at flea markets, auctions and antique shops. Fire departments have been a lifelong interest for him.
"I've chased fire trucks since I was that high," he said, bringing his hand down close to his knees. "I've just been fascinated by them."
Most departments in the area do not have a museum like this, but Bethel started one in the late 1970s as one of their members, the late Sherman Slaving, was working on a department history book. The museum closed for restoration in the 1980s and reopened more than a year ago.
One of the highlights is the 1936 Mack Pumper used at the firehouse where the American Legion now sits.
The town spent about $70,000 to have it restored in Pennsylvania in the 1980s, but the job was not completed properly, so a Connecticut restorer fixed it for another $70,000 about two years ago. Shortly afterward, it won a "Best Mack in Show" competition in New York.