Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting, Phoenix

Run by dedicated volunteers who rely upon public and private donations, this self-guided tour museum has an incredible amount of firefighting equipment, paraphanalia and exhibits. Upon arrival, you are presented with a booklet comprised of maps of each section of the massive museum along with a numerical sequence of descriptions for each exhibit along the way. The information is rather dry and lacks perceptual awareness in the sense that it would be far more awe-inspiring if they included correlations equating the significance certain apparatus and paraphanalia had at that time in history. For example, looking at a "1935 American La France Model 400 fire engine from Norfolk, Nebraska. Donated by Mr. Bernie Lowe. Restored by Don Hale. It has a 1,250 gpm rotary pump and the famous American La France V-12 engine." would be far more interesting and thus profound if they included information about what it was like to have such an engine back in those days compared to what most departments may have had. For example, the New Jersey Fire Museum website provides such a description: "Among the longest and heaviest of apparatus built in the "classic years" between World War I and Word War II, this apparatus served with the Navesink Hook and Ladder Company in Red Bank. The key features of this rig are a V12 engine, an 85' wooden extension ladder and a second driver to steer the rear axle. Despite its length, the use of a tiller man to steer the rear axle independently made this rig more manuverable than one might expect. It served until the arrival of a replacement tractor drawn rig in 1962 and then served as the reserve ladder until the purchase of a second aerial truck in 1985. It has been designated for placement in the state fire museum." Children may not be as intrigued by this museum unless they're accompanied by an adult whose able to take them to the sections designed more for children while the other adult/s in the party explore the remaining areas. Even the Hall of Heroes lacked significant impact, sadly enough. While the stories were moving, I found it more rewarding to visit the museum's website and clicking on the Hall of Heroes link. Our biggest disappointment was to learn that the temporary exhibit of the rescue squad used in the early 70's television show, Emergency, had been removed earlier than originally scheduled. All in all, unless you are truly a die-hard fire apparatus fan (and even then, opinions vastly vary), you may find it just as rewarding to visit the Hall of Flame Museum's website. I'm really hard pressed to write a better review because I am a wife of a professional firefighter and hold this field of service in the highest regard. I know that these volunteers have worked tirelessly to present the public with a fascinating collection, but it failed to make a mark with me and left me terribly disappointed.