Meet Your Neighbor: Marvin Gallaway and his love for fire service

Joe Di Lullo
·4 min read

Chasing down fires is in his blood. His father took him on fire runs. The co-director of the Mansfield Fire Museum fought fires until his retirement in 2006.

Meet your neighbor, Marvin Gallaway, retired firefighter from Mansfield Fire Department.

Gallaway got his start as a volunteer fireman at age 16 in Franklin Township and learned the ropes from his father.

Marvin Gallaway stands in front of a 1943 Seagrave fire truck on display at the Mansfield Fire Museum. A retired firefighter, Gallaway has been co-director of the museum since 2005.
Marvin Gallaway stands in front of a 1943 Seagrave fire truck on display at the Mansfield Fire Museum. A retired firefighter, Gallaway has been co-director of the museum since 2005.

"They didn’t know how young they should allow young gentlemen to partake in Franklin Township with the volunteers (firemen),” said Gallaway. The township eventually decided that those under 16 were not allowed to go to fires.

Following high school graduation, he went into the Ohio National Guard as a firefighter. As a veteran in 1976, he was hired by Mansfield Fire Department where he spent 30 years.

His service continues at the Mansfield Fire Museum

“I’ve been the co-director since 2005 with another gentleman, Paul Johnson,” said Gallaway. “I have a love for the fire service.”

This photo of Marvin Gallaway is part of a display featuring the 2006 Mansfield Fire Department.
This photo of Marvin Gallaway is part of a display featuring the 2006 Mansfield Fire Department.

The museum doesn’t give a history of Mansfield itself, but the fire service across the country, noted Gallaway. But he said one of the most popular internet search engines has the museum’s hours wrong.

“There seems to be a little discrepancy between Google and us. We are open Saturday and Sunday from the middle of May to the middle of October. The rest of the time, tours can be arranged by making an appointment,” he shared.

You name it and he does it at the museum.

“I give tours, whatever needs done here at the museum,” said Gallaway. “When I retired, I pretty much started working out here.”

A 501c3 private nonprofit organization, the fire museum actively raises money every month of the year. It’s funded through the Mansfield Fire Department Recreation Club, which runs a Bingo night year round.

One of the oldest pieces of firefighting equipment on display at the Mansfield Fire Museum is this 1837 Button Hand Pumper.
One of the oldest pieces of firefighting equipment on display at the Mansfield Fire Museum is this 1837 Button Hand Pumper.

"Bad weather is the only reason why those get canceled because we can’t have people coming out when there’s Level 1 or Level 2 snow emergencies," Gallaway said.

Although they have other donations that come through from time to time, the museum is mostly funded by Bingo games held at 6:30 p.m. every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Since Bingo is heavily regulated, “the museum falls under the education clause of charitable Bingo,” said Gallaway. Every month, a donation is made to local schools.

Safety program is available for kids

A couple of times a month, school-aged kids are in a smoky hallway and multiple bedrooms filled with six or so kids to simulate a house fire at night. “We don’t want to have too young of children to do this, it’d scare them. We like 8-to-10-years-old or so,” said Gallaway.

School kids can watch a safety video, but he says the museum staff will also fill the hallway with smoke, activate the smoke detector and show them how to get out of a house if it’s on fire.

“We teach the children how to get out of a building that’s on fire, specifically a home at night," Gallaway added.

This 1900 steam engine is one of several historic pieces of firefighting equipment on display at the Mansfield Fire Museum.
This 1900 steam engine is one of several historic pieces of firefighting equipment on display at the Mansfield Fire Museum.

The experience makes the museum a local attraction. Gallaway is inspired by its efforts to educate and to preserve artifacts. Those artifacts, including many trucks, are worth the drive to the museum.

“Our oldest pumper is from 1837. We’re trying to keep our history so that the rest of the people can see it,” he said. “The newest one is the 1976 American LaFrance; we’ve been using that in our parades.here lately.”

Each of the museum pieces are functional, but staff won’t push their luck.

“All the trucks run and are drivable,” Gallaway shared. “As far as pumping, we don’t want to risk doing a whole lot because parts are so hard to find. Of course, the steam engine never leaves the building. It’s way too valuable.”

Modern firefighting looks quite different

Current firefighters have an arsenal of new tools that weren’t around when Gallaway retired.

“They have GPS on all the trucks, whether they’re responding or in the station. There’s computerized dispatching. The trucks are very expensive now and there’s a lot of electronics on them that we didn’t have," he noted. "If I pull a lever and I want something to happen, I don’t want to have to push a button and something electric go out of whack, but that’s me, I’m older. I realize that."

Displays like this one tell the history of fire service not only in Mansfield but across the country.
Displays like this one tell the history of fire service not only in Mansfield but across the country.

The Mansfield Fire Museum is located at 1265 W. Fourth St. in Mansfield. It can be reached at mansfieldfiremuseum@yahoo.com or by calling 419-529-2573.

Correspondent Joe Di Lullo can be reached at muckrack.com/dilulloj or jp.dilullo0926@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Meet Your Neighbor: Marvin Gallaway and his love for fire service