Flame Still Burns in Heart of Former Firefighter

In their San Clemente home, Arlene and Gary Button are virtually surrounded with antique fire department memorabilia.

And for good reason.

He spent 31 years as a Los Angeles firefighter before retiring, and together, the couple have been collecting antique fire equipment and toy replicas for the past 18 years.

“We always have our eyes open for these wonderful treasures,” said his wife of 37 years. “Old things give me a good feeling. There are so many stories in those pieces.”

Their collection includes fire grenades, a glass fire extinguisher from a railway car, leather fire helmets from the mid-1800s, wooden fire buckets from the same era and old-time fire uniforms.

The toys, some built as far back at 1890, include a firehouse with a cast-iron firetruck inside. The collection is so deep in fire department memorabilia that it includes ice cream molds in the shape of firetrucks.

“Both of us are basically interested in fire departments,” she said, pointing out that their son, Christopher Button, 36, has been a firefighter for 14 years and Gary’s father was a Beverly Hills firefighter for 28 years before retiring.

So taken are the Buttons by antique fire memorabilia that each year they travel East for a series of antique shows in search of additions to their collection of 1,600 pieces, about half of them antique toys.

“Some of the shows are held in great big fields,” Arlene said. They also travel to Chicago and to nearby Glendale for toy shows. “We usually pick up a few items, but the trips are also sightseeing adventures.”

One show in Allentown, Pa., features memorabilia such as helmets, badges, buckets and speaking trumpets that firemen once used as megaphones to shout commands.

They were made of brass and silver and firemen would be presented with an inscribed ornate trumpet for their retirement.

The Buttons have compiled a small library of research books and have spent considerable time researching the pieces in their collection.

“It’s fun finding out about everything,” she said.

Learning about the items is almost as interesting as finding them, according to the couple, such as the glass fire grenades that were filled with a chemical and thrown at the base of a fire to smother the flames.

“Some of the stuff isn’t very pretty, but all of the pieces are solid collector’s items,” he said.

The Buttons said they plan to reduce the size of their collection but will keep the more valuable pieces.

Besides his penchant for collecting, Gary buys, fixes and sells old cars and motorcycles.

Button’s life as a fireman is not forgotten. “It was great. I felt fortunate to have had a job like that,” he said.