The museum cares for over 10,000 objects as well as an archive of records , ephemera and photographs estimated in the tens of thousands of pieces celebrating the history of the fire service and the FDNY . Examples of modern-day firefighting equipment , as well as a permanent memorial to the 343 members of the FDNY who died at the World Trade Center site after the September 11 attacks , are also on permanent display at the museum . In November 2015 the museum was granted an Absolute Charter by the Board of Regents of the New York State Department of Education . The entity that runs the museum is classified as a 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) organization . The NYC Fire Museum ’s roots date back to December 1870 when it was established in Fire Department Headquarters at 155 Mercer Street . between Prince and Houston Streets in Manhattan . Exactly when it was dismantled is not documented but was most likely at the time that headquarters were relocated to East 67th Street in the late 1880 ’s . When the NYC Fire College was established in the Packard Building at 32-02 Queens Boulevard in Long Island City , Queens , Chief John McKenna ordered that the relics be set up as a museum , along with a library , on the building ’s seventh floor . A better home was secured in 1948 in the new FDNY apparatus repair shops at 48-58 35th Street in Long Island City . It remained there until 1958 when a bay was vacated at the quarters of Engine Company 7 and Hook & Ladder Company 1 at 100 Duane Street in Manhattan . This location made it much easier for the general public to visit the impressive array of artifacts exhibited on two floors of the firehouse
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
New York City Fire Museum