Fire Museum of Greater Cincinnati

The Fire Museum of Greater Cincinnati highlights the significant contributions that Cincinnati has made to the firefighting profession.

Our mission is to share and celebrate the history of firefighting in Cincinnati, while providing a unique fire-safety education experience. Our vision is to bring the traditions of firefighting to life—in a museum that helps save lives.


Celebrating 160 Years of First Paid Professional Firefighters
Cincinnati residents have been battling fires on the record for more than 200 years, since a brush fire occurred in the city in 1794. At that time, fires were fought by using "bucket lines," in which men formed a sort of assembly line. They passed water down the line to the scene of the fire. Women and children formed a second line in which they passed empty buckets back to the water source. This bucket line method of fighting fires was slow and tedious.

CLICK HERE to watch the Fire Museum's interview with Infocus.