Famished for Fire Patches

The wait   is  over and finally love   and passion triumphs in the battle. We believe Albany Deputy Marshall Bob Brooks   has scripted this line in his own way. He has a collection of 8,158 fire department patches   in his quest of   making   his collection a standalone one.

The record by Brooks was all set to shatter the previous record  set in Madrid, Spain  with a total count of a mere 4513  by Juan Carlos Sanchez Cachero  a fire fighter in the year 1992.

The count was carried out by luminaries such as Albany’s Mayor, Police chief, and an independent Albany resident.  Mayor Sharon   Konopa , Police Chief Ed Boyd and professional speaker Howard Baker Jr. acted as judges and spent about two hours counting the patches and recorded the official count of 8,158.Brooks just did not want to set a record but also wanted to imprint his name in the history .He had his collection spread out on 68 tables. The dollar value of the collection might be as much as $30,000 but he does not mean business   to his collection. This large collection of fire patches that Brooks holds dates back to his effort which began in the year 1985.

His insatiable appetite for collecting the patches has not ended   even after winning world records. He has gone ahead to acquire another   400   patches. Here is one man   who sets out everyday eyeing his goal and doing something unique in a life time. With some 25,000 fire agencies nationwide, he figures he'll be collecting for another decade at least.  All the badges eventually will be displayed by the Oregon Fire Service Museum when it has a permanent home. He feels like it is sort of a tribute   to the fire service  which other cards like baseball cards would never give. Bravo for your achievements.

The  Largest collection of fire patches counted to 8,158 and was set by Bob Brooks at the Linn Fair & Expo Center in Albany, Oregon , United States of America on June 27,2011.