advertisement

Fire museum to host 'History Chat' on EMS innovations Feb. 12

On Friday, Feb. 12, the Aurora Regional Fire Museum is hosting a "History Chat" on the new traveling exhibit "Innovations from Battlefield Medicine to Modern Civilian EMS," developed in partnership with the National EMS Museum. The program will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. via Zoom. Get your free ticket via www.facebook.com/AuroraRegionalFireMuseum/.

The program will be led by Mike Williams. His background includes a 20-year career in the U.S. Air Force as a medic, pilot and commander and working in civilian emergency medical services since 1972 as an ambulance driver, emergency medical technician, paramedic, State EMS Director, and CEO of the nation's largest ambulance provider.

Williams has been a participant in the evolution of emergency medical services for almost 50 years on both the military and civilian side. He will be sharing his story and experiences in this special presentation.

A Civil War photo shows a Zouave ambulance crew demonstrating the removal of wounded soldiers from the field. Courtesy of Library of Congress

In "Innovations from Battlefield Medicine to Modern Civilian EMS," explore the innovations born on the battlefield that are used to save lives every day in a military arena or in our communities across the country. See never before seen items from the National EMS Museum collections and be inspired to learn more about the medics serving overseas and the paramedics saving lives at home.

'Firefighting in a Pandemic'

The Aurora Regional Fire Museum recently created the exhibit, "Essential Stories: Firefighting in a Pandemic" in order to collect, preserve and present the experiences of local firefighter working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a museum devoted to the history of firefighting, it is crucial to collect the stories of history that is happening right now in order to preserve them for future generations of firefighters and for the community as a whole. The museum will be sharing the responses in an online exhibit to provide insight into the lives of firefighters during this unprecedented time.

To explore the online exhibit, visit www.auroraregionalfiremuseum.org/essential-stories.

This is an ongoing collection process and the museum encourages any interested Illinois firefighters to complete the exhibit survey which can be found at bit.ly/EssentialStoriesARFM.

This project was funded by Illinois Humanities.

The museum at 53 N. Broadway in Aurora recently reopened and is now open for visitors on Wednesday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $5 per person ages 3 and older; age 2 or younger are admitted free.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.