Denton firefighters collection spans from 1800s to modern day.

tepping into the lobby of Denton’s Fire Station No. 1, visitors spy more than the high-tech equipment of a modern-day rescue department. They step back in time and experience the evolution of firefighting over the last 150 years.

Launched by local firefighters in January 2005, the Denton Firefighters Museum includes firefighting memorabilia from the 1800s to the present. Much of the collection is from Denton’s own fire department, which dates back to 1874.

The idea for the museum was sparked when a retired firefighter passed away.

“His family had some of his old gear, and they didn’t know what to do with it, so they brought it back up to the station,” Denton firefighter Blake McConnell explains. “We got to talking about...plans for a museum when they built the station. We just took it from there and ran with it.”

Dedicated to courageous firefighters past and present, the museum’s intriguing collection includes a hose cart from the 1800s, equipment from a 1935 ladder truck, fire extinguishers, fire grenades, helmets, uniforms, and Denton fire report logs from the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s, among other treasures. 

Adding to its assortment of rare breathing equipment, the museum recently acquired a Siebe Gorman breathing apparatus dating back to the late 1800s. “It’s a smoke mask and bellows. They used a foot pump and pumped air to the guy inside, and he wore this helmet,” McConnell says.

The museum also features five mannequins displaying firefighter gear through the decades, from 1920 to modern day. And with the new bunker gear locker, kids can try on the coat, helmet, and other gear current firefighters wear.

McConnell acknowledges that a firefighting museum is unique for a city of Denton’s size. “If we can just keep adding to it, we’ll have it made,” he says.

Denton firefighters already have their sights set on a project for this year: prominently displaying a helmet shield for every retired firefighter.

Facts
Housed in the lobby of Fire Station No. 1, the Denton Firefighters Museum is at 332 E. Hickory St. The museum is open 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Admission is free. For more information, call (940) 349-8840.