Boston Fire Museum

04/25/2022

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Acting Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh announced the death of Firefighter Timothy Klein, 31, of Ladder Company 170, a six-year veteran of the FDNY. On Sunday afternoon, April 24, Firefighter Klein responded to a 3–alarm fire in Brooklyn and was critically injured in a collapse inside the building while he was bravely fighting the fire.

Firefighter Klein is the 1,157th member of the FDNY to die in the line-of-duty.

May Firefighter Klein Rest In Peace!

04/17/2022

From everyone at the BFM.

04/15/2022

To our friends of the Jewish faith!

04/10/2022

We are making steady progress as we look forward to the day when we can re-open the museum. Today, Museum Chairman Will Warnock and Museum Guide Mike Gerry welcomed a few guests who "rang the door bell" as they were working on the displays.

04/09/2022

The Balentine brothers from York, Maine visited the museum today. Coming from a family with an extensive background in the fire service, the brothers amazed the staff with their knowledge of apparatus, fire alarms and fire operations. They already qualify to be guides in the BFM.

04/08/2022

Notice has been received from friends in the Dennis Fire Department that Jack Cuneo of the FIRE BELL STORE passed away on April 2nd. A memorial service will be held in Dennis on April 23rd. Jack was a great resource for all items related to the fire service. Rest In Peace Jack!

03/31/2022

Staff members of Boston Duck Tours visited the museum prior to "launching" the 2022 season of tours. The wanted to know about the museum and the antique apparatus and artifacts on display. They will be able to describe what is in the museum to the thousands of adults and children who will be enjoying the land and water tours of Boston.

Museum guides Mike Gerry and Dan O'Neill welcomed the BDT staff to the museum.

03/13/2022

PLEASE, LET'S ALL DO IT! CHANGE THE BATTERY IN YOUR SMOKE ALARM!

02/17/2022

ALL FIREFIGHTERS NEED OUR SUPPORT!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_PaDQXisIQ

01/28/2022

01/25/2022

01/25/2022

Please keep the members of the Baltimore Fire Department and their families in your prayers. Today was a tragic day for the BFD.

12/31/2021

12/24/2021

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the town
The fire sirens rang, blasting their sound

The firefighters came running from far and from near
They raced to the trucks quickly, donning their gear

And I in my bunkers, my boots, and my hat
Jumped onto the engine to see where's the fire at

Down at the corner of Maple and Oak
The chief said "a house filled with smoke"

Smoke poured from all sides, from up, and from down
Yet up on the roof there was none to be found

So up to the roof we raised us a ladder
And climbed to the top to see what’s the matter

I came to the chimney and what did I see
But a fellow in red stuck up to his knees

Well we tugged and we pulled until he came out
Then he winked with his eye and said with a shout

“These new fangled chimneys, they make then too small
For a fellow like me, not skinny at all”

With a twitch of his nose he dashed to his sleigh
And called to his reindeer, UP, UP, and AWAY

As we rolled up our hose he flew out of sight
God Bless our Firefighters and to all a Good Night!

12/24/2021

12/07/2021

80 YEARS AG0 TODAY - DECEMBER 7, 1941

FIREFIGHTING AT PEARL HARBOR

It was a beautiful Sunday morning in Honolulu when low flying planes with Rising Sun insignias on their wings roared in just above the tree tops at Pearl Harbor Naval Base. The nation of Japan was attacking our country, the United States of America.

Not until 30 minutes after the original attack, at 8:26 AM, was the first alarm received at the Honolulu Fire Department headquarters. It was a call for mutual aid to Hickam Field, the largest military base in the Pacific.

Arriving Honolulu firemen found the Hickam fire station in flames, both fire trucks destroyed, and the water mains blasted and useless. They laid over a mile of hose and drafted water from a bomb crater.

In Honolulu, the fire alarm office was flooded with both box and telephone alarms. At that time the HFD operated with eight, two piece companies, 1,000 GPM pumpers and hose wagons, and a single 75’ aerial truck. With 3 of the engine companies dispatched to Hickam Field, there were only 5 engines left for the entire city of Honolulu.

The HFD Fire Chief split the 5 remaining two piece engine companies into 10 one piece companies by loading hose onto the pumpers and ordering the hose wagons to work directly from hydrants, using only the pressure in the water mains to fight fires. Next, he commandeered nine commercial trucks, loaded each one with 500 feet of hose, a nozzle and hydrant wrench, and used city employees and volunteers to man the makeshift fire apparatus.

One lone fire engine fought a fire at the Honolulu Gas Company which normally would have been a multiple alarm. Another fire destroyed 13 buildings and was finally stopped by hydrant streams from hose wagons. No engines were available.

Of the three engine companies dispatched to Hickam Field, with 29 officers and firemen, only 26 returned. As they bravely fought the flames destroying barracks, hangars and planes, the second wave of Japanese planes came in, once again close to the ground, spitting bullets and dropping bombs.

The three Honolulu firemen likely never knew what hit them as they made the supreme sacrifice giving their lives for their country. Rest In Peace Captain John Carriera, Captain Thomas Macy and Hoseman Harry Lang.

*******************

From FIREFIGHTING LORE by W. Fred Conway
Provided by FIREHOUSE MAGAZINE

12/03/2021

Today, we remember the six members of the Worcester Fire Department who died in the “Line of Duty” at the The Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire on December 3, 1999. NEVER FORGET!

Fire Lieutenant Timothy Jackson
Fire Lieutenant Thomas Spencer
Firefighter Paul Brotherton
Firefighter Jeremiah Lucey
Firefighter James Lyons III
Firefighter Joseph McGuirk

12/02/2021

To our friends who are celebrating, best wishes for a Happy Hanukkah!

11/29/2021

79 years ago today, the morning newspapers brought news that stunned Bostonians and the world. News that over 400 people perished in an overnight fire in Boston.

“There has never again been - and firefighters most fervently hope that there never again will be - a fire like the one in Boston’s Cocoanut Grove nightclub on November 28, 1942. Nothing about that fire was normal - not its terrible speed, not its mysterious flames, not its strange twists of fate that left some without a scratch and others to die horrible deaths. …… the Cocoanut Grove blaze was over in less than an hour and killed hundreds. …… Few Bostonians were unaffected: if they didn’t have a friend or relative at the club, they knew someone who almost went there or left because it was too crowded. If they didn’t have a firefighter in the family or a relative among the city’s medical staffs, they knew of a mother in labor who couldn’t get a hospital room or of a funeral delayed because no coffins were available.” ……..

From BOSTON ON FIRE: A HISTORY OF FIRES AND FIREFIGHTING IN BOSTON by Stephanie Schorow, Chapter 7, Page 126 - Published by Commonwealth Editions

The final death toll was 492 souls.

11/26/2021

Today, we remember our friend and fellow member of the Boston Fire Museum and Boston Sparks Association, Francis J. Baker. Frank, a veteran member of the Boston Fire Department, was a founding member of the fire museum. He died from injuries he received on October 12, 1993, while operating at Still/Box 3429.

REST IN PEACE FRANK!

Pictures courtesy of Bill Noonan.

11/25/2021

11/15/2021

Seventy-nine years have passed since the tragic Maverick Square fire and collapse that claimed the lives of six members of the Boston Fire Department. In addition, almost fifty additional members of the BFD were injured, many suffering severe injuries.

The fire began at 2:28 AM on November 15, 1942 in Luongo’s Tab, a restaurant within the former East Boston Lyceum.
The fire on Box 6153, Maverick Square, escalated to three alarms. As firemen were working to extinguish the fire, without warning, the walls of floors three, four and five collapsed burying many in the rubble. Boston Fire Chief Samuel Pope ordered the 4th and 5th Alarms in order to rescue the buried firemen and control the fire.

A beautiful memorial honoring the six firemen who were killed is located at the corner of Henry St. and Maverick Square in East Boston. NEVER FORGET!

NOTE: The six firemen killed in the Line Of Duty at the Maverick Square fire equaled the record number of Line Of Duty deaths suffered by the Boston Fire Department at a single incident in the history of the BFD. That incident was the Merrimac Street Fire and Collapse of 1898. Unfortunately, that record would be exceeded by the loss of nine firefighters at the Vendome Fire and Collapse of 1972.

11/11/2021

11/10/2021

"149 years ago, on November 9, 1872, the great Boston fire began. A little past midnight a telegram was received in Portsmouth, NH, “Fire in Boston beyond control. Come immediately to our aid.” Hatch, Supt. Eastern Railroad, Boston.” ……… A reply was sent, “Coming with steam fire engine and forty veteran firemen. Portsmouth, NH.”

Kearsarge Engine 3 and the Portsmouth firemen were off to aid the dauntless fire-fighters of Boston who were desperately struggling to save their city from utter destruction. The Kearsarge was speedily entrained and two hours later, skidded off the freight car at the Eastern railroad station on Causeway Street, and started a quick time pace through the fire-lighted streets of the North End for the scene of strenuous action that awaited them."

Locating the Kearsage at the Old South Meeting House, the firemen from Portsmouth saved the Old South and stopped the spread of the fire in that area.

NOTE: The Old South Meeting House played an important role in our American Revolution. Today, the historic “Old South” remains an important stop on the Boston Freedom Trail thanks to the Portsmouth firemen and the Kearsage.

It is now 2021 and thanks to the PORTSMOUTH FIREFIGHTERS CHARITABLE ASSOCIATION the KEARSAGE has been magnificently restored.

Well done Portsmouth Firefighters!

11/10/2021

IT IS NOW 7:24 PM ... 149 YEARS AGO AT THIS MOMENT...

……“The “Great Boston Fire” of November 9 and 10, 1872 ……. was discovered to be in full possession of the building at 83-85 Summer Street, at the corner of Kingston Street, and that an alarm was given on BOX 52 at Bedford and Lincoln Streets at 7:24 P.M., November 9. This was followed by additional alarms at 7:29, 7:34, 7:45, and 8:00 P.M., calling the entire working force of the department, with further alarms on BOX 123 at 8:17 P.M. and 8:24 P.M. and on BOX 48 at 10:09 P.M. Distemper had disabled many of the horses, therefore, most of the companies brought the apparatus to the fire by hand. Engine 7, the nearest company, arrived in about 1-1/2 minutes, but Engine 19 spent 1-1/2 hours coming to the fire from their quarters at Mattapan.

It having become evident that additional force was needed to subdue the conflagration, telegraphic appeals for help brought aid from many places, as far away as New Haven, CT and Manchester, NH. The fire was not stopped until it had destroyed 776 buildings and caused property losses of about 75 million dollars.

The great fire took a comparatively small toll of lives. The only members of the Boston Fire Department who lost their lives were William Farry, Foreman, and Daniel Cochrane, Assistant Foreman, both of Hook and Ladder Company 4. The total number of deaths resulting from this fire was thirteen.

At this time, the department consisted of 21 engine companies, 11 hose companies, 7 hook and ladder companies, and 3 extinguisher wagons. A self-propelled Amoskeag steam fire engine had been sent to Boston by its builders during the fire. This was purchased and assigned to Engine 21, which used it for some time, after which it was converted to be drawn by horses.”

The above is from the HISTORY OF THE BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT AND BOSTON FIRE ALARM SYSTEM 1859 - 1973 by William Werner, published by the Boston Fire Museum / Boston Sparks Association in 1980.

11/06/2021

A message from PETER OSTROSKEY, Massachusetts State Fire Marshal, and a member of the Boston Fire Museum and Boston Sparks Association.

“When you change your clocks on Sunday be sure to check your alarms too! This weekend is a good time to replace alkaline batteries in Smoke Alarms & CO Alarms and to check the manufacturing dates. If they’re more that 10 years old, it’s time to replace them.” https://youtu.be/7D7qH1bfOL4

10/14/2021

Chelsea Fire 10/14/73

48 years ago today, the Chelsea, Mass. fire of October 14, 1973.

10/11/2021

20 years have passed since ED FOWLER, Boston Fire Museum - Boston Sparks Association member, passed away. Ed was a dedicated Cambridge Firefighter, outstanding fire investigator, professional photographer and a friend to everyone in the public safety community. Rest In Peace Ed, you are missed by many!

10/11/2021

10/01/2021

We remember!

57 Years ago today, October 1. 1964, 12:32 AM, 5 Alarms, Box 1671 for a vacant factory on Trumbull St. in the South End section of Boston.

Never forget the members of the Boston Fire Department who were killed when a wall collapsed as they were fighting the fire.

May they Rest In Peace!

09/23/2021

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ONE OF OUR DEDICATED MUSEUM STAFF MEMBERS, SPARKY!

09/21/2021

Boston Fire Museum / Boston Sparks Association member and Massachusetts State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey was honored by the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) with an award recognizing his leadership and the state’s success in reducing child fire fatalities, which have fallen to zero for two and a half years.

State Fire Marshal Ostroskey received the 2021 NASFM President’s Award at the 31st Annual Fire Prevention & Safety Symposium, held last week in Stowe, Vermont. The President’s Award, sponsored by OmniShield Home Safe Network, is an annual award that recognizes outstanding efforts and leadership during the past year.

“To have no children under the age of 18 die in a fire is an amazing accomplishment,” said NASFM Executive Director Jim Narva.

“This is one award that every fire marshal hopes to receive,” said State Fire Marshal Ostroskey. “It reflects the combined and tireless efforts of fire educators, fire prevention officers, fire departments across Massachusetts, and the Department of Fire Services.

Congratulations Marshal! ……. Congratulations Peter!

09/17/2021

TOMORROW - SATURDAY - PLAN TO ATTEND - EVERYONE WILL ENJOY THE PARADE!

09/15/2021

WE WISH OUR JEWISH FRIENDS A PEACEFUL AND BLESSED YOM KIPPUR!

09/11/2021

ALWAYS REMEMBER - NEVER FORGET!