Frederick County · Maryland Fire & Rescue Museum “Our Past Shapes Our Future”
Members Area
Visiting Hours Saturday & SundayNoon to 4 p.m. · through September 300B South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg 301-600-6736Plan your visit
A hand-drawn hose reel in the gallery

Over 200 years of fire and rescue history

The history of the Frederick County Fire and Rescue Service comes alive in artifacts, pictures and early apparatus of the fire and rescue companies that have served Frederick County for over 200 years.

Open Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 4 p.m., through September

Upcoming Events

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Welcome to the Official Website for the
Frederick County Fire & Rescue Museum


Photo: Museum "Mini-Muster" August 15 at Rose Hill Manor


Member Clarence Jewell, July 24

The Frederick County Fire & Rescue Museum will once again host a "Mini-Muster" of antique fire apparatus at Rose Hill Manor on Saturday, August 15, 2026 in conjunction with the Francis Scott Key Antique Car Club vehicle show. This is the 41st annual event for the Francis Scott Key Antique Car Club.

Contact Steve Hurst at 301-305-3617 or email him at shurstatr15@yahoo.com to register your antique ... (Full Story & Photos)


Photo: THANK YOU Jefferson Volunteer Fire Company & Lewistown District Volunteer Fire Department


Member Clarence Jewell, July 24

The officers and members of the Frederick County Fire & Rescue Museum want to express our sincere appreciation to the Jefferson Volunteer Fire Company for a donation of $500 and the Lewistown District Volunteer Fire Department for a donation of $200. Both of these fire companies have units on display at the museum. Jefferson has a 1909 Badger hand drawn chemical engine and Lewistown has a 1952 Willys ... (Full Story & Photos)


Photo: MUSEUM CLOSED  Labor Day Weekend


Member Clarence Jewell, May 07

The Frederick County Fire & Rescue Museum will be closed Labor Day Weekend to allow our volunteers time with their families. The museum will be open the weekend of September 12. The museum will close for the winter months on September 27. ... (Full Story & Photos)




Member Clarence Jewell, May 07

The Frederick County Fire & Rescue Museum welcomed nearly 100 visitors during the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend. The museum was open on Friday and extended hours Saturday as well as after the memorial service to allow family members, members of the fire service and others attending the memorial to visit the museum and learn of the colorful history of the fire and rescue service in ... (Full Story)


The former United1919 Ahrens-Fox on display at the museum courtesy of the Gladhill family.


Member Clarence Jewell, March 23

The Frederick County Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association voted to donate $1000 to the Frederick County Fire & Rescue Museum at the March meeting in Jefferson to help support the ongoing expenses of the museum. The museum completed a $20,000 replacement of the entire HVAC system. The museum does not receive county funding and depends on donations from the county volunteer fire and rescue companies ... (Full Story & Photos)


The Delaplaine Foundation provided grant funding for pavers and river rock installed by Barrick Garden Center on the north side of the museum


Member Clarence Jewell, July 29

Thanks to the Delaplaine Foundation for grant funding to improve the north side of the museum building. Barrick Garden Center has installed pavers around the handicapped parking area installed and river rock along the rest of the parking area to enhance the handicapped area and eliminate the unimproved area along the north parking area. ... (Full Story & Photos)


"Come on boys!!" might have been heard around Frederick in the 1860's to charge a line to fight the Court House Fire.


Member Clarence Jewell, June 11

The "Old Lady" was the hit of the day, and proved she can still pump, at the SPAMFFA Muster in York. PA. The "Old Lady", the circa 1848 hand tub pumper that was used by both the United Fire Company and Libertytown and her beau "Romeo", the 1893 hose carriage of the Independent Hose Company No. 1 as well as the 1876 Junior Silsby hose reel were on display at the muster thanks to the dedication of museum ... (Full Story & Photos)


The engine named "Veteran" on display at the Friendship Fire Co. in Alexandria, VA is believed to be "Grandfather" the 1764 engine purchased in Frederick


Member Clarence Jewell, April 24

The 1764 "coffee mill" hand pumper "Grandfather" is believed to be the first engine purchased in Frederick with funds from the 1760 raffle that was held specifically to build a "market" and purchase a fire engine. According to the records of the Independent Hose Company, the engine was purchased in 1764, some 54 years before the Independent Hose Company was organized. The engine was probably used ... (Full Story & Photos)


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In the collection

On display

  • Members working the handles of the Old Lady hand tub pumper at a muster in York,
    Circa 1848

    “Old Lady”

    Hand tub pumper · Mechanical Fire Co. No. 1 of Baltimore, then the United Fire Company

    Sold to the United Fire Company in Frederick in 1860, she is believed to have fought the 1861 Court House fire. Museum “engineers” brought her back to pumping condition.

  • The coffee mill hand pumper believed to be Grandfather
    1764

    “Grandfather”

    “Coffee mill” hand pumper, believed to be Frederick's first engine

    Paid for with a 1760 raffle that also built a marketplace, and believed used by the Frederick Hose Company and later the Independent Hose Co. No. 1.

  • The 1909 Badger hand-drawn chemical engine of the Jefferson Volunteer Fire Compa
    1909

    Badger chemical engine

    Hand drawn · Jefferson Volunteer Fire Company
  • The 1919 Ahrens-Fox engine on the museum floor
    1919

    Ahrens-Fox

    The former United engine, courtesy of the Gladhill family
  • The yellow 1952 Willys brush unit of the Lewistown District Volunteer Fire Depar
    1952

    Willys

    Lewistown District Volunteer Fire Department

Also in the collection

  • 1837A solid metal bucket-brigade water tub, believed to be from the Washington Hose Company on East All Saints Street
  • 1876A Silsby hose reel, believed bought with the Junior Fire Company's Silsby steamer, the first steam pumper in Frederick
  • 1893The Charles T. Holloway hose carriage of the Independent Hose Co. No. 1, bought for the company's 75th anniversary and the founding of the Maryland State Firemen's Association in Frederick
More about the museum
Department histories

More than 200 years of Frederick fire companies

  1. 1745Frederick is established.
  2. 1760A raffle raises money for a marketplace and the town's first fire engine.
  3. 1764The engine, named “Grandfather,” is purchased.
  4. 1817An ordinance sets up fire wards: Friendship, Union, Frederick Hose and Sun fire companies.
  5. 1860The United Fire Company buys “Old Lady” from Baltimore.
  6. 1876The Junior Fire Company's Silsby becomes the first steam pumper in Frederick.
  7. 1893The Maryland State Firemen's Association is organized in Frederick.
Read the department histories
Old Lady, a hose reel and a silver hose carriage set out at the SPAAMFAA muster
Hand-drawn equipment at the SPAAMFAA muster in York, PA
Out on the road

She can still pump

The hand-drawn pieces still travel. At the SPAAMFAA muster in York, Pennsylvania, “Old Lady” was the hit of the day and proved she can still pump.

Each summer the museum hosts a Mini-Muster of antique fire apparatus at Rose Hill Manor, together with the Francis Scott Key Antique Car Club vehicle show.

Museum news
Plan your visit

Visit the museum

Open
Saturdays and Sundays, 12 noon to 4 p.m., through September
Closed
Holiday weekends and the winter months
Where
300B South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD 21727, a short walk north of the National Emergency Training Center

Kept going by the fire service

The museum does not receive county funding. It depends on donations from Frederick County's volunteer fire and rescue companies, and on members who care for the collection.

info@frederickmdfiremuseum.org
Website made possible by a grant and the generosity of the Delaplaine Foundation (opens in a new tab)

Inside the museum

  • Display cases of Frederick County company history
  • The museum library
  • Fire helmets on display
  • Early fire company uniforms