Visiting The Cincinnati Fire Museum In Cincinnati, OH

We love visiting places that are off the beaten path and the Cincinnati Fire Museum in Cincinnati, OH definitely fits the bill.

A small museum, with great reviews on Trip Advisor, seemed like the perfect thing to see where I could socially distance without too much trouble (during COVID-19 in July 202o) and still learn something cool.

I wasn’t disappointed.

Cincinnati is the home of the first paid professional fire department in the United States. This museum is all about the history of firefighting in Cincinnati into the present. It’s housed in a restored historic firehouse and is full of historical information and artifacts – most of which were incredibly interesting – and you’d do well to add it to your list when visiting Cincinnati.

It starts with the history of firefighting and the inception of volunteer fire departments. Originally community members were expected to aid with fires using leather fire buckets and the bucket line system. It’s what it sounds like – a group of untrained community members passing buckets of water towards the fire.

At first, Cincinnati was small enough that people could yell when there was a fire and the community would come running. Next, it moved on to a large fire drum. The drum used from 1808-1824 is on display in the museum. After the fire drum the system progressed to bells and finally alarms.

Once you’ve seen the start of the museum downstairs, you move back upstairs to see the history once the fire department ended the volunteer companies in favor of paid professionals. You also start to see the evolution of the fire engine from hand pumps to steam engines, horses to traditional fire engine trucks that we know today.

Fire hydrants are also called fire plugs. To learn more about the history of the fire hydrant check out my video about it on my YouTube channel – The Traveling Teach.

The fire horses used for fire engines were kept in the fire house. One really cool feature was the Joker. The horses were so well trained that when the alarm would sound the Joker would open the stalls and the horses would walk forward, stand in front of the engine and wait for the firefighters to hook them up and take off towards the fire.

There are neat cabinets showing different historic items including hoses, helmets and fire extinguishers. There are really interesting early extinguishers that are small, glass balls that were stored in the home and thrown on the fire. They were filled with colored water or chemicals.

Moving through, you then get into historical information about the development of alarms, the hook and ladder truck and equipment used by firefighters including the Atlas 400 Life Net.

There are two fire engines from 1918 and 1958.

There’s a dispatch display that allows you to hear the Cincinnati Fire Department calls.

Finally, you move downstairs to the modern fire department exhibit. Included is a fire safety house to teach principles to children.

The final part of any good firefighting experience is getting to slide down the fire pole.

Cincinnati Fire Museum Ticket Prices

When visiting in July 2020, the cost of the museum was $8 for adults, $6 for children ages (7-17) and $7 for seniors. Children under 7 are free with the admission of an adult or senior. It’s well worth this entry fee to see the museum. It’s small but perfectly formed and full of information and interesting history.

If two or more of you will be visiting, be sure to check out Groupon as this attraction sometimes sells discounted tickets on there.

Address

Cincinnati Fire Museum, 315 W Court St, Cincinnati, OH 45202