Every year on May 4th, International Firefighters’ Day [St. Florian’s Day] is observed. The date was chosen because St. Florian had passed away on this day. St. Florian, the patron saint for firefighters, he was the first known commender in firefighting.
I did a day trip up to The Fire Museum in Manchester, CT. The Connecticut Firemen’s Historical Society was established in 1970. Many of memorabilia and history were becoming lost to other states. The society was formed of firefighters who worked to preserve the history and keep it in Connecticut. The museum is in a restored fire station. The United States Navy Seabees and many other volunteers helped to fix up the station. Now it is a museum that stores some apparatus, firefighting equipment and more.
Fire Museum — Manchester, CT.
I was stunned at how beautiful it was, the collections were preserved so carefully it was very impressive. The self-guided tour through the 1901 wooden firehouse took at least a hour.
The fireman’s pole is still intact here, but couldn’t do a slide on it!
In one of the rooms, there were photographs from the CT Fire Photographers Association. It was neat to recognize some photographers that I follow on social media.
The photos gallery of CT Fire Photographers Association.
It is an impressive collection and I throughly enjoyed touring the firehouse. I would highly recommend it to anyone for a visit. The admission is by donation and the volunteers who are there are happy to chat about Connecticut firefighting history.
Posing with one of the apparatus at the museum.
Thank you to all firefighters for what you do to keep the communities safe and always being there for us!