Now open for tours and museum visits
(562) 599 3985
The collection
From hand-drawn equipment to motorized apparatus, the collection preserves the tools and vehicles that helped protect Long Beach.
Preserved with purpose
Every piece in the collection offers a window into the craft, courage, and ingenuity of firefighters across generations.
The museum cares for historic apparatus, equipment, uniforms, and archival details so visitors can connect with the people behind the response.
Gallery
An Amoskeag steam pumper was a major mid-to-late 19th-century firefighting machine built by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, New Hampshire. These engines replaced hand-pumped engines and bucket brigades with mechanized, high-pressure steam power. Pulled by trained horse teams, steam pumpers gave fire departments a faster, more effective way to fight fires and became essential equipment in many major U.S. cities.
A wall of helmets spanning decades of service — each one a record of the firefighter who wore it and the era they protected. The collection traces the evolution of protective gear from leather to modern composite.
Long Beach began its ambulance service in October of 1941 using donated equipment. The service continued until 1973 when the department graduated the first class of Paramedics.
1906 marked the beginning of the paid Long Beach Fire Department. Engine Company No. 1 launched with seven horses, a 1906 steam engine, a hose wagon, and a ladder wagon — the full complement of apparatus that would protect a growing city.
Sam was adopted by the firefighters at Station 6. He became part of station life and was even taught to slide down the fire pole. In 1955, the television program "You Ask For It" came to film Sam's unusual talent, preserving one of the department's favorite local stories. Although no one knows exactly what happened to Sam later, the story holds that he struggled to adjust when the crew moved into a new building and never fully adapted to the unfamiliar surroundings.
This is a Morgan smoke hood, patented in 1914 by Garrett Morgan. After the Waterworks Tunnel explosion in Cleveland on July 24, 1916, Garrett and his brother Frank were called to the scene by a police officer who had seen the device demonstrated. The explosion, caused by a buildup of gas, trapped workers underground and helped prove the effectiveness of Morgan's invention. This was found logged in an old inventory for our department.
These are 3 of the 4 Ahrens-Fox pumpers we own. From left to right is the 1922 4 cylinder, then the 1924 6 cylinder, and then the 1926 6 cylinder. Not in the picture is our 1929 6 cylinder, the last Ahrens-Fox. All were original Long Beach pumpers.
Part of our vehicles are on display for a fire chiefs convention. From left: a 1958 Mack B125, then a 1924 Ahrens-Fox, then a 1907 Amoskeag steam pumper, and last a 1955 Cadillac ambulance.
A beautifully restored vintage Long Beach fire engine parked in front of the historic white firehouse. The long wheelbase, chrome fittings, and wooden ladder rack are hallmarks of early motorized apparatus that replaced horse-drawn equipment in the early twentieth century.
The larger alarm bell was rescued from Fire Station 1 after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. The smaller bell was placed in the personal home of one of our officers when they worked several days in a row.
An index of streets in Long Beach used by our dispatchers for many years. Commonly known as a Tub File at our dispatch before computerized dispatch.
Sample of a wooden water pipe. Wood was used as a cheaper alternative to steel. Find out how firefighters got water from it to fight the fires. Behind the wooden pipe is a badge collection donated by Ray Chambers.
Original fire department dispatch PBX station before computers. First operated by firefighters and then civilian dispatchers.
01/13
Plan a visit to see the apparatus and artifacts up close, and hear the stories that bring them to life.
