Last updated: 2/18/2011
53 N. Broadway
Aurora, IL 60505
PO Box 1782
Aurora, IL 60507
Thursday - Saturday
1 PM - 4 PM
All groups are requested to schedule visits by appointment. Other hours, guided tours, and educational programs are available for groups of ten or more.
We suggest a donation of:
$5.00 for adults
$3.00 for children
Your generous support helps us continue our mission and educational programs. Discount rates are available for groups of ten or more. Contributions of any amount are gratefully accepted.
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David Lewis
phone: 630-892-1572
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Deborah Davis
phone: 630-892-1572
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The Aurora Regional Fire Museum is located in Aurora's old Central Fire Station. The museum is open to the public regular hours, and features a variety of interactive exhibits designed to educate and entertain children, families, and firefighters.
The museum's primary exhibit, "Getting There, Getting Water, Getting Rescued" traces the evolution of the tools and technology used by firefighters. Visitors can pass a leather fire bucket from the early 1800s. See the horse stalls and the "real" fire horses. Discover what was found under the floor boards of the old central fire station. Marvel at the strange looking Vajen-Bader smoke mask. See and hear how modern fire apparatus clears the streets with sirens, air horns, and devices that change traffic lights green. Watch vintage film clips of firefighters and fire engines on one of five video touch-screens. All this in addition to five pieces of fire apparatus on display in a fully restored 1894 fire station.
The Aurora Regional Fire Museum is a nonprofit, tax exempt educational institution whose purpose is to preserve Aurora's old Central Fire Station for use as a museum. The Aurora Regional Fire Museum will preserve and exhibit the artifacts and history of Aurora and surrounding area fire departments, as well as teach and promote fire safety and prevention.
In September 1966, the Aurora Fire Chief Erwin J. Bauman authorized the establishment of a fire museum in order to collect and preserve Aurora's fire fighting history. Opened in October of 1968, the museum was housed in the basement of Fire Station 4.
By 1980, the apparatus and men had outgrown the old Central Fire Station. A new fire headquarters was built on North Broadway adjacent to the old station. The old Central Station faithfully served the fire department for eighty-six years. and there was much publicity in the newspapers about its fate. After sitting vacant for seven years, a group was organized to save the old station and transform it into a museum. The Aurora Regional Fire Museum was born.
What would a fire museum be without fire trucks! The Aurora Regional Fire Museum has nine pieces of fire apparatus in our collection dating from an 1850s hand pumper to a 1960s aerial ladder truck.
The backbone of the Aurora Regional Fire Museum is our strong collection of over one thousand artifacts, two thousand photographs, and countless volumes of historical information. Much of this collection is available to researchers by appointment.
We actively accept donations of fire memorabilia, photographs, books, newspaper clippings, and other historical materials. Please read our collections policy and then e-mail our Curator David Lewis for more information.
Group tours and a variety of educational programs are offerd. Please visit our website for more specific information.
Access: General Public, Students, Scholars
Appointment required: Yes
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