The museum is closed tomorrow, Thursday, 1.29.2026 because of ice and snow downtown.
One of the most dangerous fires Memphis fire fighters ever battled occurred on September 5, 1973, at the Illinois Central Railroad’s Johnston Yards, near the intersection of Weaver Road and Peebles Road in southwest Memphis. An area resident notified the fire alarm office at 4 PM of an explosion and a cloud of what smelled like natural gas blowing across Weaver Road from the railroad yard. A few minutes later, the Gross Train Master for the railroad called to report that a truck offloading a damaged LP Gas tank car had a ruptured hose, and gas was leaking. Within minutes, the fire department and police responded to evacuate the area and block traffic, knowing that an explosion could occur at any moment. Fire companies set up heavy fog streams to dissipate the highly flammable gas vapors. By 4:30 p.m. the gas ignited into a violent explosion. The fire was immediately upgraded to three alarms by car 102 (Deputy Fire Chief J. O. Barnett, Sr.) 28 fire companies fought to keep the blaze under control for another 30 minutes. Fire fighters desperately fought to cool the steel tank cars and prevent an explosion caused by boiling liquid expanding rapidly inside the tanks. At 5:00 p.m. another tank car ruptured, but it was nearly empty and the gas inside burned itself out before a major explosion occurred. Had the tank been full of gas, the incident would have been much worse, possibly killing or injuring dozens of Memphis firefighters. The initial response at 4 PM was Pumpers 37-36-38-Truck 14-Salvage 5-Hose Tender 1 and Battalion 9 (District Chief Charles G. Wardlow.) The Third alarm at 4:28 PM brought Pumpers 39-29-33-12-45-43-Truck 9-Snorkel 18-Salvage 2-Hose Tender 2-Battalion 3 (District Chief C. E. Smith)-Battalion 10 (District Chief M. D. Lee, II) and car 107 (Deputy Chief Elmer Martin). The Water Tower, Multi-Master, Magnum 1, Magnum 2 and other units also responded.