California Fire Museum Offers Rides On Vintage Rigs Tomorrow At Scarecrow & Pumpkin Festival In Costa Mesa

(COSTA MESA) —

The Scarecrow & Pumpkin Festival takes place Sunday October 22nd, from 10 am - 3:30 pm at Fairview Park Goat Hill Junction, 2500 Placentia Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.

A free community event for all ages!

The event is put on by Orange County Model Engineers Inc. (http://ocmetrains.org/) — a non-profit club that operates a 7 1/2" gauge railroad over a five mile layout of track surrounded by an orchard of 185 fruit trees at Fairview Park called, “Russ Green's M & R Orchard Railroad.”

The California Fire Museum and Safety Learning Center (http://www.cafiremuseum.org) will also be in attendance offering children the chance to ride in vintage fire “rigs” for a small fee. They will also have shirts, hats, and pins for sale at their booth.

“Both of the rigs that will be at the festival this weekend sereved in the Orange County Fire Deptartment,” said OCFA retired Battalion Chief Don Forsyth, President of the California Fire Museum and Safety Learning Center. “The fire truck without a top is a 1964 Crown Firecoach, which served most of it's career up until 1995 at the Sunset Beach Station.”

“The other engine with a white top is also a 1964 Crown Firecoach, however, after 20 years as a Fire Engine serving many stations around the county, it was converted into a Hose Tender which carried one Mile of large diameter hose, to help supply water to large fires, or during an earthquake response etc,” Forsyth said. “It has a larger pump, which would then return to the water source and pump through the 1 mile of hose, to whereever it would be needed. This Hose Tender served from 1964 right up to 2015 as the Hose Tender, serving many different stations around the county! Both are now owned by the California Fire Museum and Safety Learning Center, which is a nonprofit charitable 501c3 organization.”

The festival offers participants the following:

- Ride along train rides and tour

• Pumpkin Patch (with a limited number of free pumpkins)
• Vintage Fire Truck Rides
• Crafts for kids
• Face painting
• Sensory game for kids
• Ping Pong Sport for all
• Model rocket build and launch for kids
• Sail Plane build and fly for kids
• Short Wave Radio operations
• Scarecrow and Yellow Brick Road displays

The California Fire Museum and Safety Learning Center official mailing address is 24861 El Cortijo Lane, Mission Viejo CA 92691- 5232.

California Fire Museum and Safety Learning Center telephone is: (949) 916-5019.

The California Fire Museum, Inc. is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization whose purpose is:

• To preserve and protect the history and heritage of the fire service in general, with special emphasis on the California Fire Services.
• To collect, restore, preserve and exhibit apparatus, equipment, art and artifacts of the firefighting profession.
• To provide life safety, fire safety and fire prevention education to the community about the numerous hazards they encounter every day of their lives, but no other organizations are providing this education.
• To educate the public about firefighters, firefighting and emergency services.
• We are dedicated to conservation, research, restoration, education and community service.

PHOTOS COURTESY/COPYRIGHT THE CALIFORNIA FIRE MUSEUM AND SAFETY LEARNING CENTER