TAMPA, Fla. — This year marks the Tampa Fire Department’s 130th anniversary, and a museum in Downtown Tampa takes pride in celebrating its great history.
Before you can explore everything inside the Tampa Firefighters Museum, you must first understand the building itself.
WATCH: Tampa Firefighters Museum celebrates 130 years of history in the department
“The building that we are inside of was built in 1911. It’s a brick building, one of the few brick buildings left in the City of Tampa,” said Bill Wade, vice president of the museum. “This building served as the Tampa Fire headquarters until 1978, when the modern building was built right across the street.”
Wade spent the majority of his 30-year career as a Tampa firefighter at Station One, only to retire, walk across the street, and help restore the old fire station into the museum it is today.
The museum opened in 2005.
Run entirely by volunteers, the museum is a non-profit organization that is free to the public.
“We have a whole group of retired firefighters who are here, who are proud to have this building. That’s why we volunteer our time to be here—to not only take care of the building and the exhibits, but also to tell our stories to the visitors who come in,” said Wade.
“This enables me to stay current, to know the young people, to still keep my finger in the pie, if you would,” said volunteer Brian Jared.
The museum covers every aspect of firefighter life through the years, from the trucks to the equipment, the lines of communication, and even the pole.
Their newest—or you could say oldest—exhibit is a 1925 Seagrave Pumper Truck, which was used to put out fires in the city of Tampa 100 years earlier.
Firefighters and their families have donated the majority of the artifacts on display.
“We nowadays get phone calls from the grandchildren of retired firefighters who pass away that say, ‘You know, when my grandpa died, he had this stuff in his garage. What do I do with it?'" said Wade. “We go out and look, and if it has a Tampa connection, we bring it here to eventually use.”
Wade is also proud of the bond being built between generations of firefighters.
“A lot of young firefighters on the job, they come in and tell us what’s going on with the firefighters today, and it’s a great exchange of information,” said Wade.
Active-duty firefighter Sophia Cardena has her photo on display in one of the exhibits recognizing female firefighters.
“It’s an honor to be here in this museum,” said Cardenas.
The volunteers said that one of the best parts of the museum is the opportunity to meet people from all over the country who share their passion and love for firefighting.
“Really interested in the history of firefighting and some of the older trucks, and it’s been a very unique experience,” said Mike Sugg, who was visiting from Kentucky.
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