Honolulu Fire Department Museum and Education Center

This tour has been on my radar for YEARS, especially when I had a vehicle-obsessed keiki. Covid happened, so we never made it in until this year - my kiddo is a little less vehicle-obsessed at 8yo, but we still had a wonderful time. This is a total hidden gem, completely off the tourist track. Tickets were easy to reserve online - but you need to do it in advance because slots fill, especially now that things are open again. There were about 10-12 people in our tour, so you get a lot of interaction. The tour is about an hour long, and some of that is self-directed at the end. There are a couple firefighters on hand to show you some highlights, then you can explore the upstairs areas as you like. The guides are friendly and knowledgeable and you should ask questions because they have a lot of information and they can't share it all in an hour or so. The tour is focused on HFD history, of course, but you get an interesting glimpse of how the city worked in the past. Some of our favorite things were climbing all over the vintage fire trucks (which is amazing - you can touch and sit and everything), the tall room where they dried the hoses, and the play area with kitchen, firefighter lockers, and bunk. The old alarm systems were also fascinating. There's something for the whole 'ohana - it isn't just keiki- or grownup-focused. They also do CPR training - not sure if it was just the Saturday we went or whether they do that every Saturday they're open, but it's a great way to refresh your skills, as techniques have changed a bit in recent years.The tour is free, and there is free parking in the lot right behind the museum - look for signs to guide you from Queen St. right before South St (in between the FD headquarters and the current station 09.

Totally agree with previous reviews great place to visit. This is a must go tour to learn the history of the HFD and its ties to our Hawaiian culture along with bombing of pearl harbor. Tour guides are volunteer fire fighters very informative and funny. Book early spots fill up fast. Every 3rd Saturday of the month. Tours are free. Great for family day. After the tour they give some time to take pics and sit in the fire trucks. One of the best tours I been to on oahu

This tour was so informative and cool! I would recommend to anyone with or without kids. The tour is run by real firefighters who have so much knowledge about the history. We even were able to take photos on the trucks!! What a wonderful service for the community. Parking is just past the fire station on Queen street.

Today is International Firefigthers Day! In recognition of all the First Responders WORLD WIDE, and more predominately in my home HONOLULU HAWAII, I am proud to have you as our First Responders.The Museum and Education Center is a place NOT TO BE MISSED by anyone; all ages, visitors and local folk alike. Not only do they show us how brave and helpful they were over time but it shows us the history of the Island of Oahu.Students flock to this Museum as quite a few educators use this place as a learning venture and take their students on excursions to visit and learn.Adults flock to this Museum as a reminder of what our First Responders have done, will do and will continue to protect us as a City.Tours are free but again, more than the cost it is quite the way to spend a couple hours of your busy day46/100 Yelp Review Challenge Los Angeles

Sending A Big Mahalo to Jules for organizing this awesome Field Trip for us! I had no idea that this was available to the public...Even though it was a Saturday morning, our friend, Jules, was considerate and set our FREE Tour for 11am - not the first tour of the day. Yay! We got to sleep in a bit! This one and a half hour presentation is held on the third Saturday of every month.If you're interested, look online: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=11518822At first, I thought, "Why do I want to tour a Fire Department?" Answer: This is no ordinary Fire Department!Aren't you curious as to why you should go on the FREE Tour?One of the reasons is that our Honolulu Fire Department is VERY special. Not only is it the ONLY Fire Department started by a Monarchy, but it is also the ONLY Fire Department to operate under Enemy Attack (Pearl Harbor in 1941)! Yes! The historical value of The Honolulu Fire Department is very significant! Some of our Firefighters were the only civilians to be honored with the prestigious Purple Heart Award! That's so awesome! I was tearing up during parts of the tour, just thinking about the sacrifices that these heroes make for us on a daily basis. Fire fighters put their lives on the line for us - they are First Responders to any emergency. They are usually first to arrive - even before an ambulance!The tour is very organized. Look for the signs to the Free parking lot - entrance is on Queen Street. Check in at the Registration Table. First stop is at the Memorial to those lost at the September 11 Tragedy. A piece of the World Trade Center is there, next to the waterfall. It's a great place for reflection... Then, you'll view another Memorial with the Fire Fighters' Prayer - very cool! Inside the museum, the artifacts and tributes to the past are neatly arranged. The Fire Stations are numerically organized. Look for the one with the Chinese Lanterns - and the Hawaiian Fire Station! It's truly amazing! I appreciated the air conditioning and clean restroom! Also, the Fire Fighters who lead us through the exhibits have a great sense of humor! Especially upstairs at the Room of Ladders - can you believe that it took three people to carry those heavy wooden ladders back in the day? They had to sand and varnish those things every week! Yikes!I can go on and on about the display case with the trophies, Prince Albert who was an honorary Member of the Fire Department, the lockers filled with old canvas uniforms, Alexander Cartwright (Cartwright Field is named after him), the surfboard for the water rescues, the helmets, etc., but perhaps you may be curious enough to go and schedule your FREE Tour now... do it!

If you haven't gone on a tour of this museum yet, go online and book your reservation. It's a free tour, guided by Honolulu's finest firefighters, and you get a free lesson on the history of the Honolulu Fire Department.

What an awesome museum and tour! I just found this little known gem last week and signed up the Kidos and I for the 11:15 am tour. Highly recommend! Free, educational, historic and way fun!! The firefighters who took us on the tour, all 5-6 of them, were great. Very knowledgeable and super with the kids. There were 3 of us and another family of 5, so with only 8 total it was very much a personalized tour. Very cool old fire trucks, equipment, local history and even a children's interactive center up stairs.The kids and I loved it! It will definitely be on our list of places to take visiting friends and family! Big MAHALO to HFD for your service AND for creating such a great community assets in the Education Center and Museum!

My son used to be obsessed with all things relating to fire fighters. Like, fan girl scream every single time we drive by our local fire station. When the doors are open, he literally wanted me to drive slow so he could wave hi. He's been to all fire stations in central Oahu (Mililani, Wheeler, Wahiawa) and Ewa beach, so we were bound to make our way after finding out there is a museum! Every 3rd Saturday of the month some firemen/women volunteer to give the tours around the museum. We signed up online. We were shown items that were made for and can be found at the 911 memorial in New York. Then we were led to a conference room where fire fighters meet or get promotions. Then we went to another building which is a vintage fire house with 2 red vintage fire trucks and an old school wooden fire truck. He thoroughly explained the tools used. Then we went upstairs and my son got to try on firefighter gear. Cute little room for kids size things. A locker, kids bed, and costumes. All in all, my aspiring little firefighter had such a blast! They allowed pictures so you bet I took a ton. Anytime there is a fire fighting event, we usually put some time aside to attend!

This is such an interesting educational tour to go on! The fire fighters there did a great job explaining the history of every item in the museum! Me, my dad and my daughter enjoyed our time at the museum.. I kinda wish I seen some type of history piece on my papa in there (Black Perry), due to him being in the union and making history with the fire department. Thank you again to the fire fighters who showed us around the museum and answered any questions we had!!

Awesome people! We were in Honolulu on vacation and needed non-medical assistance and they went out of their way to make sure we were taken care of