Reliance Fire Museum
Free museum of antique fire engines that still start, run and pump
- reliancefiremuseum.org
- 460 Elm Rd, Estes Park
- Hours not confirmed
About
Reliance Fire Museum keeps its engines running. The collection covers more than a century of American firefighting gear, starting with a 1901 Waterous steam pumper that still pumps, and most of the trucks can be started and pumped on any given day. Admission is free.
Volunteers do the restoration in their own shop the old way: gold leaf lettering and striping, spun metal steamer crowns, pumps rebuilt with leather seals. A 1927 Ahrens Fox and a 1927 American LaFrance that once served Los Angeles are among the showpieces, and the 1967 Snorkel came out of retirement in 2009 to help the local volunteer department with a large mall fire.
The fire trucks are the whole point, and kids get it immediately. It is out on Elm Road, about a mile from downtown, and wheelchair accessible. And if a vintage engine rolls through downtown, that is the volunteers keeping it in running shape.
