Aurora Regional Fire Museum

Fire Museum Appoints Five New Board Members

During the meeting of our Board of Directors last week, the Aurora Regional Fire Museum appointed five Board Members to serve a three-year term on the Board. The Board of Directors is the governing body for the Aurora Regional Fire Museum and consists of up to 15 members of our region.

  • Clare Augustine: Clare is a retired nurse who spent her career at Rush Copley Hospital in Aurora. Clare’s grandfather, John Petersohn, was a Captain for the Aurora Fire Department and lost his life fighting the Woolworth Fire in 1934.

  • David McCabe: David is the deputy chief of the Aurora Fire Department. He has been a member of the department for 24 years and is looking forward to helping strengthen the museum’s educational outreach.

  • Kristine Walker: Kristine is an account manager with Presidio Group. She is an active member of the Aurora community and serves on the board of directors for Aurora Downtown.

  • Tracy Duran: Tracy is an accounting administrator with Vaxcel International Co.. Tracy was born and raised in Aurora and is a self-taught Aurora historian.

  • Uriel Terrazas: Uriel is an account manager with MetLife. Raised in Aurora, Uriel is excited to join the museum and lend his talents to an organization supporting his hometown.

“In welcoming this outstanding slate of new members to our Board of Directors, the Aurora Regional Fire Museum is positioned to further its commitments to preserving the history of the Aurora Fire Department and educating the public about fire safety and prevention. Each new Board Member brings something different to the table that will help us to achieve our goals and advance the mission of the Fire Museum going forward,” said James Cardis, Board President.

With the appointment of new members to its Board, the Fire Museum extends its sincere thanks to outgoing members Jill Cotton, Mike Zelensek, Abby Schuler, and Jim Rhodes for their years of dedicated service to the museum. Jill and Mike will continue to serve as volunteer committee members.  

The Aurora Regional Fire Museum preserves the history of the Aurora Fire Department and fire service in our region through our collections and exhibits while educating visitors about fire safety and prevention. From humble beginnings to the Museum visitors know and love today, the Museum welcomes over 10,000 visitors annually for tours, programs, and events.

Fire Museum to Host FREE Community Hero Day

Aurora, IL – The Aurora Regional Fire Museum will host our Third Annual Community Hero Day on Saturday, October 3 from 10am-2pm. Community Hero Day is a free, community event. The event will feature a social-distanced viewing of vehicles from eight community organizations spanning from safety to community services. Families will have an opportunity to get up close and personal with the twelve vehicles and visit with our community partners, including the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board who will be on hand with their residential fire sprinkler demonstration trailer.

Hosted at the beginning of Fire Prevention Month, Community Hero Day allows the Museum to educate the entire community about fire safety and safety in our community. “Although this year has made it challenging to host community event, we are excited to provide the opportunity to put this event on safely and connect visitors with vital safety information,” said executive director Brian Failing.

The event will include vehicles from the Aurora Fire Department, Aurora Police Department, Nicor Gas, Ozinga, Groot, Kane County Sheriff, West & Sons Towing, and the Illinois Toll Highway Authority.

Community Hero Day is presented by First Alert and is free to the entire community due to the generous support of First Alert and all of our generous sponsors. “The Aurora Regional Fire Museum is an outstanding organization that shares our mission to educate communities about fire safety, and we are thrilled to continue our valuable partnership this year,” said Tarsila Wey, director of marketing for First Alert. “We are grateful to be able to safely support Community Hero Day and support education in our local community on the importance of home fire safety.”

 A, free, timed ticket is required for entry to Community Hero Day. Tickets are available online by visiting; http://bit.ly/2020ARFMHeroDay.