Featuring more than 300 years of firefighting history

Museums that chronicle the history of firefighting are located in small towns and urban centers around the country. No doubt each one has something unique to offer. We scoured the Fire Museum Network and chose one museum to feature in this post—the FASNY (Firemen’s Association of the State of New York) Museum of Firefighting, which contains some of the world’s top collections of firefighting apparatus, equipment, gear and memorabilia. This museum totals more than 50,000 square feet, so the best way to experience it is by going there yourself. Still, we uncovered a few gems located in the museum. Here’s what we found.

• A 20-foot-long brass sliding pole from the City of Auburn Fire Department in Auburn, New York.
• A bucket carriage used by the Continental Bucket Co. No. 1 of Jamaica, Long Island, New York.
• Speaking trumpets used as early as 1752 by fire chiefs and officers to shout orders to their men.
• Fire axes, ranging in size and style from a small hatchet to a large battle axe.
• A Browder Life Saving Machine, measuring 9 to 9 ½ feet in diameter and once used to catch individuals who escaped a fire by jumping from a high-story window.
• A leather firefighter mask manufactured in London in 1878. The mask is attached to a hose, which is attached to a foot bellows. A second firefighter provided air to the firefighter wearing the mask by operating the foot bellows. The firefighters communicated via signals: 1 tug meant more air; 2 tugs, less air; 3 tugs, help me out.

For more information about the museum, visit www.fasnyfiremuseum.com.