A passion for fire department memorabilia

John Moravec of Elgin started collecting firefighter memorabilia more than 25 years ago.

His stepfather was a police officer in the Lyons, Ill., department, which gave Moravec plenty of contact with the local fire station and ignited his interest.

When Moravec’s stepfather died in 1988, he continued with his collection.

Now he has more than 700 patches from various local, national and international departments, plus old photos, books, helmets and a fireman’s coat.

The coat is his most prized possession — it’s from the London, England, fire department, complete with an embroidered badge and “London Fire Brigade” lettering.

When Moravec’s cousin’s husband’s friend spent time in London teaching, he went into one of the fire stations, asked for the jacket after telling about Moravec’s collection and then thanked them for the gift. Easy as that.

Moravec, 43, started his collection in the early 1980s.

“I figured why not be a fire memorabilia enthusiast?” Moravec said.

He had previously collected trains, but only halfheartedly. Now his collection is a major part of his life.

He spends time writing to different fire departments asking for patches — most recently he has been in contact with a fire chief from West Frankfort, Ill., who agreed to put a patch in the mail.

Moravec also stops into unknown departments when he travels.

“I travel whenever I can,” Moravec said. “I like to travel in general, and also be able to pick up new patches I don’t have.”

The third Sunday of each month is an opportunity for Moravec to meet with other enthusiasts of his caliber.

A fire buff club meets at a different suburban fire department every month for the chance to learn about that department’s history and coverage area, and also photograph the local fire truck.

Moravec, who works part-time at Goodwill, spends his volunteer time immersing himself even further into his passion at the Elgin Fire Barn No. 5 museum.

He has a photo from an old firehouse that used to be downtown dating back to the early 1900s, and recently added another from 1925. Moravec gets to borrow photos from the museum to make copies before returning them, giving him the chance to add gems to his collection.

Usually most of his collected items stay in boxes, but a fire helmet, fire-themed posters and centennial anniversary license plates from the Lyons, Ill., station decorate his walls.

Though he has plenty of time to continue growing his collection, Moravec already said he knows what he wants to do with the memorabilia when he dies.

“I’m planning to give it to the fire museum of greater Chicago,” Moravec said. “They just opened up in an old Chicago fire house.”

Until then, he’ll continue adding one piece at a time to the boxes he keeps in his Elgin home.