Free Museum Alert: Tampa Firefighters Museum

Having gone to college in Tampa, I am more familiar with that city than many of the other places that we travel.  However, college was a long time ago and things change.  One of the fun things about traveling is seeing familiar locations through new eyes.   While the revitalized Ybor City neighborhood tends to get all the publicity, I was interested in finding something unique.  I was successful! 

I found the FREE (donations are graciously accepted) Tampa Firefighters Museum.  In the heart of downtown, this museum is only a 15-minute drive from two of the area’s larger hotels, the Renaissance at International Plaza and the Tampa Marriott Westshore.  It has been well-documented on this blog, how much I like free museums and finding one with a noble purpose is even better.  During my tour of the museum, I saw two visitors who were firefighters in other cities around the country.  Both gentlemen were very excited to find such a museum.  In fact, the museum staff member said they host more firefighter weddings than she can count.

The Tampa Fire Department began as an all-volunteer department in 1884-85.  It became a paid department in 1895.  The building that houses the museum was constructed in 1911 and was Station #1.  The building has been there for the evolution of a department that began with horse-powered equipment, transitioned to steam-powered equipment, and finally into the era of motorized equipment and vehicles.

The museum houses a wide variety of vehicles and equipment from the department’s history.  I didn’t expect to find the technicalities so interesting, but I was wrong.  There are displays of uniforms, helmets, hose carts, ladders and more.  Did you know that modern-day ladders have heat sensors on them that turn black at 300 degrees?  I certainly didn’t!

Curators have taken great pains to make sure all areas of the department have been recognized.  That means there is a fire-retardant suit from the airport team on display and chemical carts going back to the 1920’s. I was never a strong student of chemistry, but I found the explanation of the old chemical carts amazing.  The canister had a chamber that held six pounds of sulphuric acid. When the cart was tipped, the acid mixed with 33 gallons of water that already had 20 pounds of sodium bicarbonate dissolved in it. The chemical reaction caused pressure to force the liquid out of the hose.  That’s a high school chemistry class experiment that I’d like to see.

Like many departments around the nation, Tampa also sent assistance to New York City after the 9/11 tragedy.  The Tampa department sent two cadaver dogs and some staff to assist.  In recognition of their support, the department was given a piece of one of the World Trade Center buildings.  This, too, is on display for guests to see.

I was particularly impressed with the Memorial Room.  This room was simple and classy.  The display here memorializes every firefighter lost in the line of duty in the department’s history.  A shield-style plaque is mounted for each person.  A wall card tells about their life and personality and explains how they died.  Newspaper articles referencing each person’s career are displayed, if they are available for that individual.

There is even a display dedicated to the famous Ybor City fire of 1908.  Ybor City was known for manufacturing cigars back then.  The combination of wooden warehouses and tobacco proved tragic in 1908.  The fire spread quickly and destroyed 55 acres of a heavily populated area.  After that, Tampa began importing brick and rebuilding the area with brick structures.  Many of these historic brick buildings remain today.

For me, one of the most amazing displays was the old call box system.  In the early 1900’s, citizens had to go to a call box down the street to summon the fire department.  This call box system was like early 9-1-1.  The huge display explains how pulling the handle on the call box caused a chain reaction of signals to show up on the fire department switchboard.

The museum is free, but donations are gratefully accepted.  There is a free app you can download on your phone that gives you audio content for the self-guided tour.  Plan for 30-60 minutes to see all the displays.

Bonus Tip for My Event Planning Colleagues: The second floor has a banquet space.  This space is about 2500 square feet and has the original hard wood floors. . .and they are gorgeous!  Next time my colleagues in the event industry are hosting meetings in Tampa, I hope they will consider a field trip to this museum and banquet space.

Tampa may have been my home during college, but like most big cities, it is ever-changing.  Finding a free museum in downtown was a great surprise and I enjoyed the learning experience.  No, I didn’t get to slide down the fireman’s pole, but honoring those who bravely dedicate their lives to such a dangerous and selfless career beats that by a mile.

Have you been to a firefighters’ museum somewhere else?  Tell us about it in the comments.