There’s A Fire Museum In Cleveland And It’s Just As Cool As It Sounds
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Nikki Rhoades
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Cleveland has a fascinating history. So many “firsts” happened right here in our city, from the first rock and roll concert to the first separation of conjoined twins. Clevelanders spearheaded innovations in the world of safety, too. Garrett Morgan, who was born in 1877, moved to Cleveland in 1895 and immediately began a career of tinkering. One of his greatest innovations was the smoke hood, which preceded the gas mask (but was significantly cheaper than the era’s oxygen masks) but still provided firefighters with an extra line of defense against suffocating smoke. The smoke hood saved lives in and beyond Greater Cleveland, but that’s just one of many helpful inventions used by brave firefighters. For the full history of firefighting, you’ll want to swing by the Western Reserve Fire Museum and Education Center in Cleveland. Check it out:
After all, you'll find yourself surrounded by iconic skyscrapers and stadiums. Just up the road is Erie Street Cemetery, an eerie reminder that this area was once the edge of Cleveland rather than the heart of the city.
The Western Reserve Fire Museum and Education Center is a unique local museum that's just barely two decades old. For many locals, it is a location that they have yet to visit ... and, truthfully, it's one of the more important museums to visit. It celebrates advancements that have saved lives, as well as the contributions of local lifesaving firefighters.
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If the building looks vaguely familiar in its design, that's likely because it was constructed in tandem with the Terminal Tower. From 1926 to 1982, this site served as an active fire station. It also housed the Fire Department Dispatch Center, which was active until 2002. This structure predates the Hope Memorial Bridge, as well as much of the surrounding architecture.
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Now a historic landmark, this cool time capsule of a building hosts more than 3,000 firehouse journals, a variety of apparatuses that assisted in past firefighting, and even photographs of firefighters that once used these historic objects. In fact, cataloging is still taking place ... and you can volunteer to help with that process!
While you'll spot many familiar community names on pieces of equipment in the exhibits, you might even encounter history from communities beyond Greater Cleveland. That's because the museum strives to preserve firefighting history from a dozen local counties: Erie, Huron, Lorain Medina, Cuyahoga, Summit, Lake, Geauga, Portage, Ashtabula, Trumbull, and Mahoning.
The idea of establishing a fire museum in Cleveland is decades old, but it finally came to fruition when Cleveland Fire Station No. 28 closed in 2002. The Western Reserve Fire Museum at Cleveland, Inc. (formerly the Western Reserve Fire Buffs Foundation) reached an agreement for a long-term lease in 2003, but the building needed a lot of work. Like, $3 million in work. Various local firefighters sprung to action by donating their time, skills, and money to help restore the building and create a space that allowed history to flourish.
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You'll want to budget time to pay a visit to this cool museum and local landmark. There's so much knowledge and history tucked into its walls and it's just one of many museums that work together to tell the story of Greater Cleveland.
If you bring along kids for the tour, they'll love the Kids Korner. There are toys and coloring projects to help little visitors express their excitement and apply the knowledge they learned during their visit.
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Even if you serve as a firefighter in your own community, you might be surprised at what firefighting used to look like. We've come a long way, but the objects displayed in the museum put into perspective where innovation first started and how it evolved over time.
Your funding will go toward helping the museum make continued improvements and, believe it or not, saving lives. The museum's offerings of fire prevention and safety education programs keep our community prepared, and education is the best defense against disaster.
Connect with Cleveland's Western Reserve Fire Museum and Education Center on Facebook for updates and an inside look at current and upcoming exhibits.
Look for it near the Guardians of Traffic at 310 Carnegie Ave, Cleveland, OH 44115.
There’s so much to see at The Western Reserve Fire Museum and Education Center in Cleveland.
Love local history? Why not make it into a road trip? There are several interesting museums beyond Greater Cleveland that belong on your bucket list.
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The Western Reserve Fire Museum and Education Center, 310 Carnegie Ave, Cleveland, OH 44115, USA