Ocala Fire Rescue will host an event to unveil the city’s new fire bell monument. The event will celebrate the return of the bell to its original location at the intersection of SE Broadway Street and SE Osceola Avenue. The official unveiling will take place on Wednesday, July 24, at 8:30 p.m.
Crafted by the McShane Bell Foundry – a Maryland based bell producer – Ocala’s fire bell arrived in town in 1889. Housed in a tower built next to the city’s first fire station, the bell was used to alert citizens of fires. In 1968, Fire Station One was relocated to NE Watula Avenue, and the bell was decommissioned.
After spending nearly half a century at a church in Dunnellon and over five years in storage, the bell has returned to its original home at the corner of SE Broadway Street and SE Osceola Avenue.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Ocala Fire Rescue at 352-629-8306.