FASNY Museum of Firefighting

Fantastic place to take kids and adults. I love how there are certain trucks that can be played on and educational things everywhere you look. Great place to stop it’s quite and all around nice.

Great to see everything here, and take a walk through history.

This is a really good museum for people of all ages… took a 3 year old and 2 adults and we all really found something we liked. Highly recommended! Hudson is a nice town for lunch afterwards.

Went with our 3-​year old. Lots of interactive exhibits, cool fire engines, and great fire safety info. Also lots of interesting information for adults and some exhibits designed for older children too.

Ever heard of this place before? Me neither. Turns out to be one of the best places you can take kids — and also enjoy yourself, and learn quite a bit too!
For some reason, it seems like it’s set up backwards, with the entrance leading into a garage full of various fire trucks. You have to go all the way to the back to get to the really good stuff — like trying to get milk or bread in a supermarket.
Not the easiest place to find, but absolutely worth the effort.

I enjoy history museums, and in this case especially so. The oldest item is a Newsham engine, imported from England, 1731. I’m partial to steam and this collection has a handful of beautiful examples. I’m also partial to old and here they hold a 1902 aerial tower wagon. If you don’t find these pieces somehow beautiful in their own way, then perhaps you need a new lease on life. This was an exceptional collection.

This is truly an unexpected gem in hiding. The Museum of Firefighting, although operating for many years, is now huge, housing all sorts of firefighting vehicles from all different eras, mostly from fire companies in the NY region. There are also interactive exhibits, tons of antique equipment on display, and interesting tidbits of information scattered about as well. There is a tasteful 9 – 11 exhibit, too.
Years ago, when I first stumbled upon the Museum of Firefighting, I was truly surprised to find this incredible, well-​stocked museum basically in the middle of nowhere! Now it’s better than ever. I’ve never even come across a similarly impressive collection of antiques and artifacts in any of the museums here in NYC.
This place is really worth taking the time to find — which can be a little tricky — but certainly worth it!

Admission is a good value for the large collection. Photographs are allowed except in the hand-​pumper and steam pumper area. A staff member said the photo prohibition is mostly to preserve the decorative oil paintings on the historic equipment from flash strobes. (Although flashless photography is also prohibited in this one part of the museum.) A few of the more modern vehicles are set up for children to enter. They can sit inside the cab and check out the view.
VEHICLES: I can’t guess how many vehicles were on display. There was a wide variety of things from ambulances and chief’s cars to ladder trucks. There was one classic, Cadillac-​chassis ambulance. There was a late 1960s hay baler (International Harvester) wildland firefighting truck. There were some good-​looking Maxim pumpers. There was even a retired cart once used for fire suppression inside the Kodak plant. Many vehicles had electronics and antennas removed from them. Only a few had visible serial number plates.
ARTIFACTS: Display cases throughout the museum held protective clothing, Gamewell boxes, uniforms, and the usual firefighting tools. There were items from the September 11, 2001 attack. There were several video presentations, on a variety of topics, that visitors could sit and watch.
There was one Motorola low-​band ‘lunch box’ type two way radio. This probably dates from the late 1940s. It had a gray crinkle finish and a telephone style handset. This style is not user friendly because you had to have the handset up to your ear to know anyone was calling you. Other models had a microphone and speaker instead. These things used acorn tubes and had high voltage power from 67-​volt dry cell batteries.
GIFT SHOP: As you’d expect, many firefighting-​related shirts and toys are offered in the gift shop.
ACCESS: The museum appears to be fully wheelchair accessible.
The staff were friendly and helpful. If you like history, technology of vehicles, or public safety, there will be something here for you.

From going to this business just a few short years ago, I wasn’t too thrilled with the place. I mean, it’s just a bunch of fire trucks under one roof. There’s nothing special about most of them. They might have a few miscellaneous pieces of equipment, but either way, there isn’t much excitement in this place. I may enjoy some museums, but not this one. And also, it might help if you make a few more exhibits interactive with the guests (I only spotted 3 exhibits that really stood out that said «look at me with kids»
Also, I didn’t spot all that many placards describing each of the pieces, and it might be more enjoyable if all or most had.
However, take it or leave it. It’s free! And in this economy, this point is a good thing.

It was an experience that must be enjoy if in Hudson! Its interactive, and educational at the same time. The best part of my trip to Hudson.

A side-​trip on a drive through upstate NY brought us to a very enjoyable hour at the Museum of Firefighting. First open in 1926, the Museum now offers over 50,000 sq. feet of exhibitions and activities. You’ll find row after row of fire engines, including one which dates to 1726, fire gear and equipment, banners, memorabilia, badges and art. Every direction you turn there is something interesting. Admission is $ 5 (adult) and $ 2 (child), with a $ 10 family rate. Interesting and (I’ll admit it) fun.

This place was really fun on a trip up to Hudson, NY. My 2 year old had a blast playing in all of the fire trucks, and us adults actually learned something :)

Our two boys (1 and 5 yrs) loved this place.

This place deserves 6 stars. Someone really put some thought into this museum. Actually fun for both kids and parents, which is a rarity. For kids-​lots of very cool old fire trucks to climb around, places to do fire truck puzzles, and drawings, and the best thing– fire fighter clothing that you can wear as you walk around the museuem. For parents – cool old fire trucks, a fascinating section on pre-​20^th fire fighting techniques, and fire fighter clothing you can walk around in (admit it, the fascination with fire trucks and gear isn’t restricted to kids!). Lots of visuals, rather than print heavy, makes a fascinating exhibition. This whole place has a lovely feel. Oh, and did I mention you can dress up like a fire fighter? Highly highly recommend this place.

Do you want to put on fire gear?
Do you want to climb on fire trucks?
Do you want to play real instruments in a make believe marching band, clattering and banging and singing along?
In other words, are you five years old? If so, get off your parents’ computer, Unilocal is NO place for a child! Good God! Your tiny eyes have been ruined…
If, however, you are not in fact five years old… PRETEND you are five again. Or six. Or eight. But whatever you choose… this museum will blow your tiny kid-​mind.
Sure, you can be all grown-​up-​y in the «history» part of this museum (genuinely fascinating chronological history of equipment, methods, etc) and you can get pensive and depressive in the very well-​done September 11^th room, but ultimately this place is incredible because it turns out EVERYONE secretly kinda wants to put on fire gear and climb on trucks. Even the most somber wet blankets in our group (read: me) somehow found themselves suddenly in helmets and boots, posing on vintage fire trucks with a gleeful smile.
This is a genuinely fantastic museum, with something of interest to everyone. You can play dress up, AND learn about the incredible history of fire-​fighting, from bucket brigades to modern engines. Five stars all the way.

The kids and adults have lots of fun here… lots of fire trucks from all different eras. They just built a new childrens section with crafts and activities for the little ones. You could spend a whole day here if you were REALLY into all things fire, but for a nice outing for a couple of hours, the Firefighters Museum is great.

Operated by the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York in close conjunction with the Firemen’s Home, which is located next door, this is one of the most impressive and focused museum’s I’ve visited in a long time.
There are several building’s worth of fire trucks, vehicles, and apparatus to check out — dating back to the first fire wagon in New York — as well as tons of paraphernalia, including badges, election pins for the women’s auxiliary, banners from various units, and other items.
You can learn a lot about the history of firefighting, as well as the professional culture surrounding firefighting. And because fighting fires brings risks, there’s the feel of a veteran’s memorial to the museum, as well.
Worth at least an hour. Look for Trumpet, the stuffed dog, the wooden statue that once had a silver box hidden inside it, and a banner from the town in which you live (if you’re a New Yorker).