Volunteer Firemen's Museum-Kingston NY

02/18/2023

Michael J Rafferty. Chief Kingston Fire Department. Born in the Village of Rondout in 1871. Michael joined Union Hose Company No. 4 at the age of 15. He was elected Foreman of the company when he was 17 making him the youngest Foreman in Ulster County. He served as Second and First Chief Engineer before being appointed Chief Engineer for KFD on January 1, 1898 at the age of 26. Making him one of the youngest Chiefs in New York State.

02/04/2023

Newspaper clipping from August 1980 showing off East Kingstons New American LaFrance pumper.

01/31/2023

1857 Certificate for Edward Winter as Foreman of Lackawanna Fire Engine number 1 in the Village of Rondout.

01/26/2023

Although this isn't Kingston it is about one of our neighboring companies and their new truck. Although the article isn't dated it is probably form the late 1950s. As we go through our collection of photos and articles we will be sharing information on Ulster County fire companies we find and we will be working on displaying them at the museum for everyone to enjoy.

01/22/2023

It's not to early to mark your calendars for our 2023 Muster. This year it is scheduled for Saturday August 19th from 10am to 3pm

01/04/2023

Promotional material Sent to Chief Joe Murphy in 1947 showing off the Mack Fire engines. The last photo is of the Mack engine that was delivered in May 1948 to replace the 1925 American LaFrance engine at the Fair St station.

01/01/2023

12/30/2022

We will be starting our winter hours this Saturday the 31st. We will be open from 10am to 2pm. The rest of the dates we will be open are January 14th and 28th. February 11th and 25th and March 11th and 25th. All dates we will be open 10 to 2. If you would like to visit at a time we aren't scheduled to be open please feel free to call us and we can help arrange a time for you.

12/25/2022

12/17/2022

12/15/2022

As we approach Christmas we wanted to share some photos of Rapid Hose with Santa getting ready to deliver candy canes to the neighborhood. Not sure of the date on the first photo. The second photo is from 1975.

12/02/2022

She all ready for Mr. And Mrs. Claus

12/02/2022

Don't forget to stop by the museum tomorrow evening and enjoy some hot chocolate and some cookies. We would like to thank MacKenzie Fisher for the beautiful and delicious cookies.

12/01/2022

Be sure to visit us on Friday evening for some hot chocolate and cookies while enjoying all the entertainment uptown. We will be open from 6 to 8

11/26/2022

Decorating the museum for the Christmas holiday

11/26/2022

Come join us on December 2nd from 6 pm to 8 pm. We will have e hot chocolate and cookies for all our guests. We will also be doing a couple of raffles that evening. Hope to see you all then.

11/24/2022

11/12/2022

Come on down we are open today from 10am to 2pm

11/11/2022

11/09/2022

Progress being made on Chief Weber. All the old paint is cleaned off and repairs to his hand and some minor plaster repairs will begin shortly. Then a fresh coat of paint. For a sculpture that was designed and created in 1883 he is in remarkably good shape other than paint as seen in the photos taken prior to the restoration work beginning

11/04/2022

As winter approaches we can see how in the late 1920s how the schools and fire department worked together to let folks know if there was a snow day. Compared to todays use of internet, radios and messages sent to your phone. Thank you to Friends of Historic Kingston for sharing this with us.

11/02/2022

February 1946 accident occurred while responding to a false alarm. The accident was at the intersection of Down St and Manor Ave. One of a handful of photos in our collection ghat we have a clipping of the Freeman to share.

11/02/2022

We will be open the next 3 Saturdays from 10am to 2pm. We will also be open the night of Friday December 2nd from 6pm to 8pm.
After that we will reopen Saturdays in January

10/31/2022

10/30/2022

Few more pictures from the Halloween parade

10/29/2022

A few photos from todays Halloween Parade.

10/29/2022

We will be closing at 1pm today so we can participate in the Halloween parade this afternoon

10/22/2022

A few more pictures from the Scarecrow fest

10/22/2022

If you are headed uptown today stop by the Scarecrow Festival on Frog Alley. It is running till 2pm.

10/20/2022

Chief Weber is off for a much needed restoration. The work is being done by Keropian Sculpture LLC in Carmel, NY.

10/18/2022

Wiltwyck Hose had their pool table until approximately 1910. Company records show how members were fined anywhere from 50 cents to $5: or at times expelled from the company for not following the rules.

10/08/2022

May 1980 dedication of new Salvage Truck at A.H Wicks Engine and Truck Co. on Wiltwyck Ave. Pictured from left to rightFire Commissioner Robert Smith, Fire Chief William Schreiber, Driver Captain Gregg Pugliese, Mayor Finald Quick, Volunteer Deputy Chief A. Foster Winfield and Fire Commissioner James Amendola.

10/03/2022

1912 Kingston Firefighter exam shared with us by Friends of Historic Kingston.

09/25/2022

Sitting in the antique fire truck isn't just a kid thing

09/24/2022

Kingston fire equipment October 1958. The photo was taken at the athletic field on the corner of Smith Ave and Cornell St. This is the location of the post office today. The first truck in the picture is the 1934 Sanford we have on display at the museum.

09/16/2022

09/12/2022

A part of our collection of photographs includes a number of photos for surrounding communities. These photos fro May 1928 of a massive fire in Catskill are part of that collection. We don't have any other information about the fire at this time but we are researching this to be able to share more of the history of this incident.