County of Los Angeles Fire Museum Association

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The County of Los Angeles Fire Museum opened to the public in December of 2009 in Bellflower, California, and offers the public an interesting look at the rich history of firefighting.  The museum features a wide variety of antique fire apparatus and equipment dating back to the 1860's.

The museum is operated by the County Los Angeles Fire Museum Association, a private, non-profit group with approximately 3,000 dues-paying members.  The County of Los Angeles Fire Museum is open the first Sunday of every month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and tours are given by active and retired firefighters.

Only a small portion of the museum's collection of antique fire trucks is on display at the Bellflower facility.  The majority of the fire apparatus is at a storage and restoration facility in South Gate, California, about seven miles away.  Most of the restoration work is being completed for free by Paul Schneider, the President of the County of Los Angeles Fire Museum and a Captain with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

1923 Stutz City Service Ladder Truck

Currently Schneider is working on completing the restoration of a 1923 Stutz City Service Ladder Truck that was originally in service with the Los Angeles Fire Department.  This fire truck is unique in that it is tillered and is 41' long.  According to Schneider, the Los Angeles Fire Department was the only agency to order the tillered City Service trucks, and they owned five of the vehicles.  The museum has the only remaining truck.

The 1923 Stutz City Service Ladder Truck was in service from 1923 to 1950 at Los Angeles Fire Department's Station 30, which is now home to the African American Firefighter Museum.  This piece of fire apparatus is of historical significance in that it is the truck that African American firefighters worked on during the Los Angeles Fire Department's era of segregation.  Schneider and the museum hope to bring it back to Station 30 when it is complete and photograph it with the remaining living firefighters who were assigned to the truck.

Steamer Engine Collection

An 1860's Button Handpumper is the oldest apparatus owned by the County of Los Angeles Fire Museum. It also has the largest collection of steamers on the West Coast and possibly in America, according to Schneider.  With a total of seven steamer engines in various stages of restoration, the museum boasts a diverse collection. Multiple manufacturers are represented, spanning a period from 1888 to 1907.

Display of Original "Emergency" Television Show Fire Apparatus

The County of Los Angeles Fire Museum is also home to a display about the 1970's television show, "Emergency".  Included in the display are the original Squad 51 and Engine 51, along with the second Engine 51 that was used in later episodes. 

The museum is also in the process of collecting later model fire apparatus that have recently been put out of service.  Although the fire trucks are not sought after now, in twenty to thirty years, they will be of historical importance and will make for valuable displays.

Plans for New County of Los Angeles Fire Museum Facility

In the works is the construction of a new state-of-the-art facility.  The new building will house the fire museum, a fire department-themed restaurant, and banquet facilities.  Public education will also be an important focus of the new fire museum.  Paul Schneider says, "We wanted to use the fire department's popularity with America's youth to show them how certain subjects that a lot of kids don't really care for, how important they are to being a firefighter."

The new facility will cost approximately $15,000,000; however, once it is built, the restaurant and banquet facilities will generate revenue.  The County of Los Angeles Fire Museum Association is actively seeking new members, and they hope to have enough money raised to break ground in the next three to four years. Construction is estimated to last two years.

Schneider says the Association is looking for corporate and private donors who would like to participate in the project.  He is hopeful, saying, "We may come up with a benefactor that likes our plan, likes our idea, that wants to help us out and move that time scale up, and we are certainly open to that idea."

"A Backdrop to Tell the Tales of Good People Doing Good Work"

Paul Schneider's love for the County of Los Angeles Fire Museum and its collection is apparent.  In addition to his full-time job with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, he devotes much of his personal time to the museum. Explaining the significance of the its antique fire apparatus collection, he says, "All this stuff is neat.  We love all the mechanical aspects of everything and the history of these pieces of equipment, but they really are nothing more than steel and brass and chrome and nickle.  They are just the backdrop to tell the tales of good people doing great work."

Additional Information

For more information about the County of Los Angeles Fire Museum, including operating hours and how to become a member of the County of Los Angeles Fire Museum Association, visit LACountyFireMuseum.com.

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