York County Fire Museum
757 West Market St.
York, PA 17404
(717) 848-5665
www.yorkheritage.org/vg_fm.asp

The Fire Museum of York County preserves the heritage of more than 200 years of firefighting. All seventy-two fire companies of York County are represented here, with some of them dating back to before the American Revolution. The beautiful turn-of-the-century fire house creates the perfect atmosphere for the many exciting displays.

Visitors will see how firefighters progressed from the early Leather Bucket Brigades to Hand Drawn Carts and Pumps, to Horse Drawn Apparatus, and finally to Motorized Equipment. The equipment here is real, and it's pretty neat stuff.

Pull a Fire Alarm Box and see and hear an original Gamewell Fire Alarm System from the late 1800's. Read the names of the old fire horses -- still engraved in concrete with brass letters. Visit an old fashioned Fire Chief's Sleeping Quarters, complete with brass slide pole.

Exhibits showcase fire vehicles of all types, including a 1919 Model T fire engine, a 1933 Ahrens-Fox, a 1955 American LaFrance, and four other motorized vehicles. Of course there are the horse-drawn carts and other apparatus. An exhibit of Currier & Ives Prints and a variety of other fire fighting artifacts completes the collection.

While there are no formal programs for School Groups, the tour is definitely educational for all ages.