The Fire Museum of Memphis welcomes visitors Monday through Saturday. Admission is $10.00 for adults; $9.00 for seniors, $9.00 for children ages 13-17, and $8.00 for children ages 3-12. Children under 3 are FREE.
Contrary to some posts on the Internet, there are no days with free admission, as some other Memphis attractions have.. We apologize for any inconvenience. Free admission is only offered to museum members (must purchase a membership) and Red Door Members of the Memphis Fire Department.
THE FIRE MUSEUM OF MEMPHIS IS OPEN DAILY FROM 9 AM UNTIL 4:30 PM. HOWEVER, GUESTS ARE ONLY ALLOWED IN UNTIL THE LAST ADMISSION AT 3:30 PM. This is to allow each guest at least one hour to tour our facility and see each exhibit. We hope you enjoy your experience at the Fire Museum of Memphis.
The longest and most unusual battle that Memphis fire fighters ever fought began on December 2, 1956, at the Quaker Oats Company plant at Chelsea and Holmes Road. Over 70,000 tons of corncobs, piled behind the Quaker plant, caught fire as a result of spontaneous combustion. The corncobs were to be used in the manufacture of alcohol and charcoal briquettes. The fire, which was spread over several acres, burned for an unbelievable 23 days. The Memphis fire department pumped several million gallons of water and used over 4,500 gallons of gasoline to operate 14 pieces of equipment to combat the blaze, at a total cost of $420,000. One engine pumped water for 130 consecutive hours without shutting down. On December 25, 1956, the fire was officially declared under control. This unusual fire was the first of its type known to occur in the United States, and it resulted in a great amount of research on methods of storing this material.
