ODHFS Historical Archives & Collection Research Requests

The ODHFS has collected a large volume of material over its 30 year history concerning all aspects of an antique fire related nature. Slides, books, news articles, manuals, and lots of photos to name just some of the items in this collection. These archived materials may be the single largest collection of antique resources available anywhere.

A sincere vote of thanks goes to Tommy Herman, historian and archivist for ODHFS, for collecting and maintaining this fine collection. Currently the collection resides in the Herman home in Chesterfield and it is from here that Tommy receives and answers upwards of 3 dozen requests a year for various items.

A decision was made by the officers and directors of ODHFS in the fall of 2007 to begin to catalog this collection so that this entire collection of resource material could be shared with club members and other like-minded individuals. Bill Jones has agreed to head up this effort with assistance from other club members ( Tommy Herman serving as Chairman, Richard Moss, Karl Ehlshlager, Bob Rohrbach, Henry Kidd and Pete West).

Cataloging a collection of this size will require many man hours and take some time to complete. There will be costs associated with this cataloging to include computer expenses, additional file cabinets, and adequate storage and preservation materials.

In order to support the cost of this project the ODHFS will begin to charge for requests for materials from its archived collection. These costs are not at the same level the AACA charges SPAAMFAA members to access the same type materials we have. Details of the charges and the order form is under the "FILES" link on this website. 

These charges do not represent a fund raising effort. Monies generated will be used to support purchase of supplies to maintain the collection and to purchase additional historical items as necessary.

Clyde Clark, President