Kilgore College Fire Academy unveils antique helmet collection at 9/11 ceremony

KILGORE, Texas (KLTV) – Kilgore College held a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at their fire academy today. They chose this day to unveil a collection of antique firefighter helmets donated to the college that are now on display at the fire academy.

A lot of things come to mind with the word collection, and firefighter helmets may not be top of the list, but for former firefighter Addy Hadaway it was a no-brainer.

“I’ve always been interested in other fire departments, how they operate. And so, I started collecting the fire helmets when I was at the Kilgore Fire Department,” Hadaway said.

Director of the Kilgore College Fire Academy Johnny Zackary said the antique helmets come from around the world.

“So, we have helmets from Scotland, Edinburgh, from World War II, Austria, Switzerland. Just a big variety of fire helmets including one from Kilgore Rescue, which Mr. Hadaway was part of,” Zackary said.

But before the unveiling of the displays, the college paid their respect to the victims of 9/11 on this, the 22nd anniversary. They held it in a 130-foot hallway at the fire academy because, as Zackary explains, the distance between the twin towers was 130 feet, and first responders needed access to each building, so they:

“Started using the hallway or corridor underground, that was 130 feet. And that’s why today having the venue in a hallway to let us recognize the hallway and the importance of it on that day,” Zackary said.

The hall was lined with students and staff from Kilgore College as a tribute was given and bagpipes were played. And then the 13-helmet collection was unveiled.

“Each country, up until recently, had a different style of helmet. Now in Europe they’re pretty much the same Euro-helmets. And I have some of those in my collection also,” Hadaway said.

Addy said mostly the collection just sat in his house. Occasionally it was displayed at area fire departments. But will Addy miss them?

“I will, yeah. I used to come home, and I used to say, ‘hello, fire helmets,’” Hadaway said.

But now student firefighters can see some actual history in their halls. And maybe they’ll keep Addy’s greeting alive when they stop to look at his helmets.

Hadaway said he didn’t want to see the collection sold off in a garage sale after he died. He wanted them to be displayed where they would be appreciated. The fire academy also has a collection of antique fire extinguishers displayed that are on loan to the college. It’s open to the public during regular Kilgore College hours.

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