Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting

The Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting in Phoenix, Arizona, showcases over 130 restored firefighting artifacts from 1725 to the early 2000s, including vehicles and equipment from around the world.

Planning your visit

The Hall of Flame holds one of the largest collections of firefighting equipment anywhere: over 130 restored pieces of apparatus spanning 1725 to the early 2000s, from hand-pumped engines and horse-drawn steamers through early motorised pumpers to modern trucks, gathered from across the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Japan.

The chronological arrangement makes the technology legible — how pumping capacity, water supply, ladders and breathing apparatus each developed, and what each advance did to survival rates. Alongside the machinery sit helmets, uniforms, alarm systems and fire marks, the metal plaques that told insurance-company brigades which buildings they were contracted to save.

Two sections carry more weight than the hardware. The National Firefighting Hall of Heroes commemorates firefighters killed or decorated in the line of duty, including a September 11 memorial. And the wildland firefighting gallery has particular resonance in Arizona, where the Granite Mountain Hotshots deaths in 2013 remain recent.

It works especially well with children, who are allowed to climb on some vehicles. Allow ninety minutes. It sits in Papago Park in Phoenix. The main booking is an entry ticket. Current availability is listed below.