Connecticut Firemen's Historical Society

Preserving Connecticut's Fire Service History

About The Fire Museum

Welcome to The Fire Museum, the home of the Connecticut Firemen’s Historical Society, located amidst the renovated red-brick mill buildings of the Cheney National Historic and Landmark District in Manchester, CT.

The Museum is housed in a 1901 wooden firehouse, originally built by the Manchester Volunteer Firemen with funds donated by the Cheney Family, world renowned manufacturers of fine silk fabrics.

A wide variety of Connecticut collectibles and eleven pieces of apparatus are on display throughout our historic building.

2023 Season Highlights

CT Fire Academy Cadet Tours

This year we had two groups of Connecticut Fire Academy Cadets that came through the museum. These cadets are part of the Introduction to the Fire Service class that the CFA holds each year. We look forward each year to having the cadets in the museum for a tour.

Kevin McKeon Book Signing

Society member Kevin McKeon held a book signing for his latest book, The Connecticut Fire Service Experience Volume 3. Kevin also donated this most recent volume to be sold at the museum store and all proceeds go to directly back into the museum.

2023 Connecticut Room Display

The 2023 exhibit in the Connecticut room was a display of photos of local Connecticut firemen, fire houses, and fire apparatus. Also on display in the display case was an assortment of badges that belong to some of the departments that we displayed along the wall in the room.

Flanagan Family Visit

The family of the late Andrew Flanagan the past Chief of Training with the New Haven Fire Dept visited the museum. They recently donated a early Hartford Fire Dept helmet and a chief engineers front. The family wanted to visit the museum with some out of state family members.

Lighting up the hose tower

CFHS Board Member Jim Brown made the climb to the top of the hose tower to ready the green lights for the St Patrick's Day celebration. Jim rotates different colored lights depending on the holiday.

Exhibit Improvements

We are constantly thinking of ways to improve our exhibits here at the museum. CFHS Board Members took on the challenge and made custom lantern holders for each of our lanterns that are on display. Each lantern now sits safely on a wall-mounted display shelf in the first-floor display area.