The Pennsylvania National Fire Museum is a very important testament to time and of history of not only the local Harrisburg PA fire department but the fire department in general as a whole from its humble beginnings and where it started to what it has become over the years all the way up to today. I recently visited with my wife and kids, and we had a great time exploring all there is to look at. Whether you want to explore for yourself or have someone show you around they will accommodate you. When we went it was on a Saturday, so I figured there would be more people there but there was not. The museum does apparently run at least partly on the admission fees and or donations from the public so your visit would not only be interesting and fun for you for whoever you go with but go toward a good cause as well. The museum is also very well laid out, the pictures speak for themselves. It is also filled with many fire-department artifacts, and they even let the kids and I ring the bell in the bell tower before we left.

We went on Saturday morning, they had a boy scout group and some extra people but the volunteers still made sure felt welcomed especially barry. He explained everything well gave us some extra information. The exhibits was greatly created informative and had some fun local history but firehouse, firefighters, and tools used by them in general. It was even more crazy with them getting ready for the st. Patty parade and taking one their trucks out to parade. So it was def a cool sight. Again barry popped up gave us more information about trucks and answered questions we had. We paid twenty bucks was a Great value for the museum. Def amazing place for the value. The place was clean, informative and great for all families.

This makes for a great two hour museum trip if you need to pass some time. Museum staff are extremely helpful and knowledgeable. They have three portions to the museum: the first floor, the loft and the apparatus bay. It chronicles the Harrisburg fire service from the inception when apparatus were pulled by people and then horses to the modern era. On the second floor is the alarm room: it discusses how fire boxes worked and helps to explain the communications systems work today. Admission prices are very reasonable compared to most museums. The museum gift shop is full of firefighter merchandise. There is ample free parking right next to the museum for visitors.

An awesome place to visit and take kids!

Wonderful place for history lovers. The collections are better than expected.

Having an interest in firefighting, this museum had a very nice collection of apparatus, equipment and photographs of the history associated with firefighting in Harrisburg

Loved, loved and loved this museum. So informative and so much fun. I was treated to an alarm box show that explained the inner workings of early fire box systems. I loved the way you can see the progression of fire fighting over decades. Well worth the $7 enterance fee. Run by knowledgable volunteers. Highly recommend.

Wonderful old firehouse in Harrisburg. Friendly staff and great displays.

Great collection and working display of an old alarm system and much more!

Absolutely wonderful museum. It's not really big but it's packed with so much history of the fire service. This is ran by dedicated volunteers that do a wonderful job. Very knowledgeable and friendly. They make you feel welcome and very inviting. I'd highly recommend if your in the area to spend a couple hours there looking at the exhibits and taking it all in. As always with any volunteer outfit funding is always a priority. Stop by and help them keep this wonderful place alive.

The museum itself is in an over 100 year old firehouse. They have artifacts from the man pulled days all the way up to modern day. Upstairs is a very well done room showing how the old alarm system worked. They have several fire trucks on display in the back room. The staff is very informative and helpful. Also has a nice gift shop to end your trip through the museum. A must visit if you're in the area!

I took my husband to this museum because he's a firefighter and loves everything about the history. We were greeted by a nice gentleman and we talked for a while. It was a self guided tour but the guy was knowledgeable and answered any of our questions we had. There was a couple hands on exhibits and the place was amazing! I would highly recommend this museum for history and fireman buffs alike. I can't express enough of how good of experience we had with this museum. Also it has an elevator and its wheel chair accessible.

This museum is so impressive and the staff are so knowledgeable and pleasant. Loved every minute of it!

Beautiful restoration of fire house. Takes you through the last 3 centuries of fire protection in the city of Harrisburg, state of Pennsylvania, and the United States. All volunteer staff is extremely knowledgeable and very friendly.

I love visiting with my husband as we make the best of our situation as serving live with out without parole. We make the best that we can relationship we have on the voices on our faces. The staff is always kind to us talk to us another visit.

This place is amazing! Jim gave us the history and a lot of details and stories - he was great! The museum is very large and has a lot of interesting pieces, facts and history. We spent a few hours here and still probably didn't see everything. Highly recommend to everyone.

Not a large museum, but they've packed a lot of history into that building. The volunteer was very friendly and gave us a personal tour as we were the only ones visiting that day. Parent tip: There are displays that can be very loud and/or have flashing lights. Let them know if you have a child who is sensitive to this, and they will accommodate. Overall, it's a good place to take the family!

Very educational and the staff are EXTREMELY friendly. As a former firefighter I could appreciate the tour and definitely connected. I would definitely recommend to any fire buffs and aspiring firefighters.

Open from 10am-4pm, The Pennsylvania Fire museum holds an abundance of well preserved fire related items such as motorized fire apparatus, fire-related toys, and so much more! The museum itself is inside of a 3 story 1899 fire house that was rebuilt using the original blueprints. The museum is ran entirely on volunteers, all of which are very nice and are dedicated to the fire history of Pennsylvania. There is a 30-60 minute explanation of the history of both the building and fire-fighting in general and then it is a self-guided tour. There is a gift shop as well. Tickets are paid for after you do a tour of the firestation and cost 7 dollars for adults, 6 dollars for children 6-18, and 6 dollars for seniors.

Their website and their voicemail stated they were open from 1-4pm. Drove almost an hour and found the place dark (closed). I understand about staffing issues but the least they could do is update their information.

A museum more individuals should get out n visit. 2 wonderful guides plnty of exhibits. One of the ten top places one should visit n Harrisburg.

When you come to Harrisburg you have got this check out this museum. It is quite impressive. They have all different types of fire apparatus dating back as far as the 1700s. You will not be disappointed!

Very awesome displays, perfect place for any fire department enthusiast or current/past members of the fire service. Members of the museum are themselves retired fire service members and very knowledgeable.

The staff wabs extremely friendly and informative. The displays were well thought out with great descriptions including very thorough storylines. The display of the gamewell fire alarm system is extraordinary. I highly recommend this place.

Having grown up in the volunteer fire/EMS service and continuing to do so to this day, this place was an absolutely awesome find. All of the displays were fascinating and it felt like a step back in time as soon as you walked in the door. I would highly recommend. The staff member working the day I visited made me at home like he’d known me for years rather than just a few minutes. I’ll definitely be back in the future. Thank you!

Absolutely a hidden gem of a museum! The fire artifacts and equipment are numerous and well-preserved, and the scenes are immersive. The tickets are reasonably-priced, they have free off-street parking, and there is a neat gift shop. The volunteer staff were extremely knowledgeable, passionate about the museum, and very friendly. I have zero background in firefighting and still found everything the museum had to offer extremely interesting. Took 3 hours to explore it all-you could easily spend more if you read everything. I really enjoyed this museum - the history is so fascinating! Very highly recommend checking it out!!! (:

Great museum filled with fire fighter history. It was a great stop on the way back fro Hershey. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable.