Blog

150 years Ago - the year 1875 - at least 9 fire brigades were formed in NSW. Though not a

As the year draws to a close, we always spend time reflecting on what stories and photographs were popular on our socials. Our team enjoy sharing historic incidents and anniversaries, just as much as we take pride in sharing the various updates we’ve made around the Museum and the various activities we’ve been taking part in. In what will be one of the last blogs for 2024 we’ve taken a look at the most popular images we’ve shared on Instagram. It is said that a picture speaks

The Museum of Fire is an iconic staple of the Penrith landscape and that is mostly due to the wonderful building that we are housed in today. The large grey building that we call home was once upon a time Penrith Power Station and has an intriguing history of its own, so let’s take a look at what is so special about our building! Firstly, lets step back in time and make it clear as to when the Museum of Fire got involved. We come into the picture in 1985, where after the buil

Belinda McMartin, Museum of Fire CEO (November 2024) The Constant Wheels of Change – Is That a Feasible Business Model for the Museum? Growth and development don’t happen overnight. Change takes time and adapting to this isn’t a quick task. Having said that, the global pandemic created the need for rapid adaptation and so between 2020-2022 the Museum was in a constant state of change, growth and development. In 2023 the Museum switched our focus to consolidation, as we came

It’s time for another look back at what was happening in the world of the NSW Fire Brigade (NSWFB, today known as Fire and Rescue NSW, FRNSW) thirty years ago, twenty years ago and ten years ago! Here is a quick spin through thirty years of history! Thirty Years Ago - 1994 Thirty years ago, in 1994, there were a lot of legislative changes being enacted by the NSW Government that directly affected the NSWFB, specifically through amendments to the Fire Brigades Act (1989). The

"Women's work is never done so a woman directors work is really never done" – Jahnavi Phalkey, Bengaluru Science Gallery The Australian Museum and Galleries Association (AMaGA) national conference was held in Ballarat, Victoria recently with the central theme for 2024 promoted as “(un)common ground: collisions, convergence and conversations”. As has become the norm, climate change and underrepresented voices were the topic that was woven through most sessions and conversation

We focus so much on telling other people’s stories in this blog that we thought we would take the time to tell you our story, and how the Museum of Fire came to be. The Museum’s history begins with the establishment of the Historic Fire Engine Association of Australia (HFEAA; now known as the Historic Fire Engine Association). In 1968 Brian Blunt and Bob Winch purchased a Dennis Big 4 fire engine from the Board of Fire Commissioners of NSW (now Fire and Rescue NSW, FRNSW),

As has become customary on the anniversary of our blog first being published, we take this opportunity to look back at the last twelve months and share the 10 most popular blogs. As we count down to the most popular blog of the year it is very evident to see from all popular blogs just how important remembering the past is. This is especially true when it comes to major disasters which impact entire communities. This is represented in the most read blogs. The Museum’s weekly

Throughout the month of May the Museum team has been kept very busy with lots of events and more projects throughout the Museum to update several exhibitions and displays. We also opened our temporary exhibit “The Longest Serving Regional Brigades in NSW”, which you may have seen if you visited the Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) display at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. This year marks 140 years since the creation of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB), which today is known as

Saturday 18 May 2024 is International Museum Day. Since 1977 ICOM, the International Council of Museums, has hosted this special Museum Day as a way to raise awareness of Museum’s as an important cultural repository and important tool for international cooperation and development of peace amongst all people. Annually over 158 countries take part with different events from sharing online content to hosting events in the Museum space. In 2024 the theme of International Museum D