As I walked through the door I closed my eyes tightly. When I opened them again I had been transported into a 7-year-old with eyes the size of small saucers.
Here was a room full of "when I grow up I want to be a fireman!" What I didn't know was that I was just looking at one room of many - - filled with fire engines and fire-fighting equipment from around the world. Some were old and didn't look like our fire engines today; but they all looked like the perfect place for me to climb on board and toot the horns and whistles . . . ."beep, beep, move over, brave firemen coming to save the barn!" (I couldn't actually climb on them; although there was one that you could!)
There's a room of old radios where you can hear calls into fire stations around the valley announcing current fire calls. As I close your eyes again I can even imagine that I am on the back of a hook and ladder engine screaming to the scene of a three-alarm blaze.
There's a room dedicated to firemen who have given their last breath to saving a corner grocery store, or a family pet . . . there is a section of that dedicated room to the many brave firemen who gave their lives on 9-11.
If you go, be sure you have time to spend . . . it isn't a small museum and there is much to see. Walking through time . . . starting when fire wagons were pulled by the firemen themselves . . . then by horses and finally were real motor engines.
As I walked out the door I realized that it isn't just children who are fascinated by fire engines . . . . we all are!
As I pull to the curb to let one of today's big fire engines go screaming past, my heart and head go back to the time I was transported as I crossed the threshold to a most intriguing museum of bravery and heroes - The Hall of Flame - Museum of Firefighting!