How it all began…

It all started in early 1968 when some members of the Connecticut Trolley Museum thought that an old fire engine would be handy for filling the museum’s steam engine than ran during the summer. It could also be used for the occasional grass fires the ending started in the woods and maybe even for going to parades.
 

They heard that the Torrington Fire Department was retiring a 1930 Maxim hose wagon. The group was able to purchase the retired engine and store it in a rented barn on Scantic Road in East Windsor. Soon enough, the Trolley Museum Fire Department which later become the Connecticut Fire Museum had begun.
 

From this point on, the collection began to grow at a rate of about three trucks per year. More buildings around the Scantic Road building were rented as the collection grew. In 1971, the organization was incorporated in the State of Connecticut as the Connecticut Antique Fire Apparatus Association, Incorporated.

In 1974, ground was broken at for a new museum building to be built on the property of the Connecticut Trolley Museum. The collection was moved around at various locations during this time to accommodate the growing collection of fire trucks.
 

In October of 1974, the association acquired a 1948 GMC transit bus, donated by the Connecticut Company. This kickstarted the Motor coach Museum side of the organization. The bus collection has since grown to 10 pieces dating from 1946 t0 1979. One of these pieces included the only Railbus left in the world, a GMC bus equipped with rail wheels to allow it to run on both the highway or on the rails.

The Association continues to operate as the only operating Fire and Motor coach Museum in the State of Connecticut. Comprised of all volunteers, the Association brings antique vehicles to different events, parades, and celebrations throughout the year.