Raleigh Fire Museum Receives First Annual Donation From Raleigh Firefighters Hall

Press release

Raleigh Fire Museum Receives First Annual Donation From Raleigh Firefighters Hall

January 5, 2025

The Raleigh Fire Museum (RFM) organization has received a $12,000 donation from the
Raleigh Firefighter’s Hall (RFH) organization and extends their appreciation.

The December 23, 2024, donation of $12,000 is the first of planned annual
donations from RFH, a non-profit charitable organization created in 2018 to
receive and govern the monies from the sale of the old Raleigh Firemen’s Club
property.

Background

RFH is the successor to the Raleigh Firemen’s Club (RFC) organization, a
non-profit charitable organization created in 1968 by members of the Raleigh
Fire Department. They raised money and purchased land near Falls Lake, then a
proposed reservoir. The clubhouse was completed in 1979. The building was used
for many years.

As interest in the club and use of the building waned in recent decades, and the RFC
board decided in 2017 to sell the property and donate the proceeds to a new
nonprofit created as a joint partnership between members of the RFC board and
the RFM board, named the Raleigh Firefighter’s Hall (RFH).

To learn more about the legacy of the Raleigh Firemen’s Club, visit this web site.

Club Property Sold

In 2021, the club property was sold, and the Raleigh Firemen’s Club organization
received $533,000. After the sale, RFC made a one-time donation of $25,000 to
the Wake County Firefighters Burned Children’s Fund, in honor of the many
Raleigh Fire Department members who had worked and served to build the club.

In 2022, RFC donated the remaining money to RFH. In 2023, RFH began investing
the money from the club sale. In December 2024, the RFH board approved a
donation of $12,000 to RFM. The board has plans to make an annual donation to
RFM consisting of the majority of each year’s earnings.

The Raleigh Firefighter’s Hall organization has no operating expenses of their
own. They have adopted a financial structure that requires the principal balance
to remain untouched with hopes that it can produce an interest return each year
to help support the fire museum organization and its growing needs.

Incredible Donation

Said RFH president Ronny Mizell, “It gives me so much peace and joy to know that
all the efforts put into the Raleigh Firemen’s Club over the years are forever
protected, and the spirit of giving with all involved will live forever with our
annual donation. The love, hope, and vision to protect and serve has come full
circle and will live forever thru RFM and RFH.”

Said RFM president John Rehbock, “This incredible donation will help our
organization with funding of new projects. Most people don’t realize that the
Raleigh Fire Museum does not receiving any funding from the city. We rely
entirely on donations.”

Rehbock adds, “This year, the fire museum’s annual operating expenses have
increased due to the costs of storing our antiques, including the beloved
snorkel, and repairs for those trucks. We’ve also started a project to convert
old Raleigh Engine 9 into a funeral coach caisson.”

More Information

For more information about the Raleigh Firefighter’s Hall, contact RFH board
President Ronny Mizell at ronnymizell@gmail.com.

For more information about the Raleigh Fire Museum, contact
raleighfiremuseum@gmail.com