If you were ever that kid who saw the flashing lights of a firetruck and thought about being a fireman, Jeffersonville, Indiana, has a museum for you – the Vintage Fire Museum. Before you even get inside, vintage fire trucks are in the parking lot. You’ll immediately notice the bright parking lot paints and kid-friendly atmosphere. On the museum’s south side, there’s even a playground, not to mention swings and park benches for the adults.
Inside is a collection of fire department items that is unrivaled anywhere. Some of the earliest firefighting equipment is here and beautifully restored. This is the oldest hand pumper, built in 1756 – made 20 years before America existed. That’s over 260 years old. Look at this later one from 1796; men had to stand and raise the bar up and down to pump the water. Most people wouldn’t even know what this 1850 pumper was – up to 20 men could pump water with this model. This is the very first chemical fire truck from 1864. There’s fire education for the kids, one of those life nets you used to see in movies before modern fire trucks with giant extended ladders were made. There are vintage fireman helmets and fire extinguishers; they even have the fireman’s uniform worn by actor Tom Cruise when he starred in Mission Impossible.
This is the only firefighters’s pinball machine I’ve ever seen. You might say this place is something to bark about – open year-round, rain or shine; the Vintage Fire Museum has a collection that’s second to none, waiting for the firefighters in all of us.
