The building is considered a rare reminder of what emerging industrial and commercial cities had to do to prevent widespread destruction of its man-made environment by fire.

"It is vital to the health of firefighters to properly clean bunker gear following a fire to prevent the transfer of carcinogens, particulates and biohazards," the Kansas state fire marshal said recently in announcing a new cancer-prevention program.

The occasion for that statement was to announce the first awards from a fledgling Kansas grant program, partly aimed at cancer prevention. Some of the $200,000 allocated this year was spent buying heavy-duty washing machines called extractors to clean toxin-laden coats, pants and hoods.

"The guidelines on fire equipment now is 10 years after it was manufactured you have to take it out of service, regardless of the condition, so everything has to be replaced in a 10-year cycle," Manning said.

Manning said at a small fire station with a small budget such as the one in Calhoun Falls, grants such as the one from Georgia-Pacific have a significant impact.

"At a small fire station like this -- we've got roughly 25 to 35 firefighter on our roster at any given time -- it's kind of hard to buy that many sets of turnout gear at one time, especially with the financial situation our town is in," Manning said. "They were nice enough to award us with the $5,000 for our turnout gear that is much needed gear for two of my firefighters."