The FASNY Museum of Firefighting has a rich and exciting history. At the 51st State Firemen's Convention held in Hudson in 1923, a resolution signed by the Presidents and Secretaries of both the Volunteer Firemen's Association and the Exempt Firemen's Association of the City of New York said that if the State Association of the Firemen's Home would authorize the erection of a suitable building for a museum, four fire engines, one built in England in 1725, a Gooseneck more than one hundred years old, a piano-style engine 63 years old and a double-deck engine, would all be donated as the first pieces.

So, amid much anticipation, the Museum was built with a center hall 49 feet long with two adjoining wings 24 feet long, amounting to 2600 square feet of museum space. At 3 am on the morning of November 12, 1925, six large trucks brought the valuable collection up from New York City. The items were numbered and catalogued and then placed on display. The Museum was dedicated on Memorial Day 1926 with appropriate ceremonies.

In order to accommodate the numerous donations to the Museum, additions were necessary. The first addition was added in 1957, 31 years after the initial opening. The second addition came in 1972, with another expansion in 1989, and yet another in 2000 adding to the current size, totaling more than 50,000 square feet.

Today, the FASNY Museum of Firefighting contains one of the largest collections of firefighting apparatus, equipment, gear and memorabilia in the world. Much of the artwork was in the original gift presented to the Museum by the Exempt Volunteer Firefighters of New York City.

During the American Civil War, several large cities, including New York, sent regiments to fight for the Union army. These "Zouaves," as they were known, were equipped and uniformed by the sponsoring fire department, so they typically had better arms and more dashing dress, such as the Turkish style trousers and bright red tasseled fez.

With the end of the Civil War, the city government in New York was trying to figure out how to get control of the volunteer fire department, which was becoming more and more of a political liability due to their tendencies toward ruffianism and general lack of discipline. One of the principal scoundrels, as depicted in "The Gangs of New York," was "Boss" Tweed, whose name has become synonymous with political graft and corruption. At the Museum, we refer to him as Fire Chief William Tweed!

One of his trusted Assistant Chiefs was none other than Joseph Johnson, one of the most celebrated artists of his time. Mr. Johnson did many fire department portraits and other work. His work is very evident in our collection, including a rescue scene showing Chief William Tweed in action, this done obviously some time before he died in prison.

The prestigious lithograph firm of Currier & Ives is well-represented in our Museum as well. Both Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives were New York City volunteer firefighters. They did a lot of fire-related work since they were involved as firemen. Their prints were very popular in the 1860's and still remain popular today.

For more information or a brochure, please call the Museum toll-free at (877) 347-3687.