Places to visit in York, PA
Fire Museum
Located in the historic Royal Fire House, which was built in 1903. Visitors may observe how York Firefighters worked, lived, and played at the museum. The structure houses more than 225 years of firefighting equipment from York County’s 72 fire organizations. Six fire vehicles from the 1920s through the 1950s, hand-drawn pumpers, uniforms, and ancient alarm systems are among the exhibits and artifacts on show. The station is stunning now, and it still has many of the qualities that it would have required to function as a fire station. The 100-foot tower still has a bell, and the two fire rods from the third storey continue to go down to the garage where the fire vehicles were stored. The building itself is a time capsule of York’s firefighting history. A half-dozen major fire engines, as well as a few smaller fire carts, are housed at the garage. The fire engines are from the 1920s to 1950s and are extremely lovely to look at. The horse stables that would have been there when the station was established have been restored in the back of the garage to illustrate how the firehouse would have appeared if all fire vehicles were driven by horses. The highlight of the museum’s second level is a room full of various sorts of fire alarms and mechanical fire instruments. There are also a couple of old grenade fire extinguishers that haven’t been used in over a century. There is also a chamber that houses a collection of other firefighting gear, including historical parade costumes used by York firefighters. The museum has a Gamewell alarm system that came from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and was placed in the city hall in the early 1920s. The Dauphin County Fire Dispatch Console, which was in use during the nuclear disaster at Three Mile Island in March 1979, is also housed in the alarm room. Visitors may use this functional exhibit to pull the alarm box and broadcast alarm tones, which sends a signal to the alarm system, which will ring in stations proclaiming the alert. The museum features one of the greatest collections of parade caps. The volunteer firemen’s lives revolved on parades. The firemen donned their nicely painted, pressed felt hats instead of their “work helmets” for the procession. Richard Mason of Philadelphia designed and manufactured the hand pumper in 1792. The “Enjine” is a two-piston, single-deck, end-stroke hand pump capable of discharging 150 gallons per minute into the gallery pipe atop the compression chamber. Because the engine isn’t fitted with a suction hose, water has to be put into the wooden box using buckets or another hose. In honor of those who have died in the line of duty, the memorial plaques are created from 1 3/4″ brass expansion rings that have been cut, pressed flat, and engraved. Almost 3,000 patches from fire companies across the country are on show at the museum. Visitors are encouraged to contribute a patch from their local fire department, which will be proudly displayed at the museum. Parade apparatus includes two original Harrisburg Fire Apparatus. Engine 16, 1947 Mack, originally from Pleasant View Station and Ladder 2, 1935 Mack, from Allison Hook and Ladder.
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