About Us

The San Antonio Fire Museum was once a working fire station. The Museum was a dream of five firefighters (Hector Cardenas, Lee Zalesky, Steve Potter, Mike Atiee, John Duennenberg), assigned together at old #19’s station in 1995 and presented to Robert Ojeda (then Chief of the San Antonio Fire Department), and has become one of the most notable Fire Museums in the country. 

The Museum is housed in the historic Central Fire Headquarters which was built in 1938.  The building is located near the Alamo and offers visitors a glimpse into an era when volunteers used hand-operated water pumpers and heavy leather hoses to battle fires in early San Antonio. 

The Museum offers visitors a unique and educational experience, highlighting the history and evolution of firefighting equipment, techniques, and the role of firefighters in the San Antonio community. 

Open since May 2013, the Museum has a strong history of volunteerism, visitors, exhibit growth and being self-sustaining.  Today through the use of audio and visual displays, exhibition of apparatus, equipment, photos, records, and with docent assistance, the Fire Museum’s goal is to present San Antonio’s firefighting past to visitors in an informative and historically distinctive atmosphere and to educate the public on the critical need for fire safety. 

Approximately 10,000 visitors including school children, tourists, civic groups, associations, and residents of Bexar County visit the Museum annually. Additionally, many firefighters and their families are frequent visitors.  The entire Museum operation is supported by over 50 volunteers and over 500 members. The San Antonio Fire Museum Society hired a President on a part-time basis, to oversee the daily operations