{"id":327105,"date":"2026-08-22T00:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T00:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/327105\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T00:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T00:58:14","slug":"nyc-fire-museum-reopens-ahead-of-25-year-9-11-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/327105\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC Fire Museum Reopens Ahead of 25-year 9\/11 Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As New York City approaches 25 years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the NYC Fire Museum has reopened its doors following a two-year shut down to address faults in the building\u2019s structural integrity.<\/p>\n

The museum, located at 278 Spring Street in a renovated 1904 firehouse<\/a>, opened at 10 a.m. on August 20. The firehouse was once home to Engine Co. 30 and Rescue 1, Manhattan\u2019s FDNY Rescue Company; Rescue 1 was among the very first groups to arrive on scene on Sept. 11, ultimately losing 11 men<\/a> that day.<\/p>\n

Museum visitors can find centuries-old fire engines and supplies across the museum\u2019s two floors, including horse-drawn vehicles and still-colorful early iterations of the FDNY helmet. The institution is also home to the first<\/a> permanent memorial honoring each of the 343 FDNY members who died on Sept. 11.<\/p>\n

The exhibits themselves aren\u2019t unique to the museum\u2019s reopening; in fact, as the museum underwent renovations, many artifacts stayed in place<\/a> as the work carried on around them. Since the museum has material stretching back to the 17th century, only three percent of its archive can be on display at any given moment.<\/p>\n

The Fire Museum\u2019s first day open to the public since May 2024 launched with statements from key leaders and stakeholders, including Executive Director Dominick DeRubbio,<\/a> FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore, Co-Chief FDNY Chaplain Rabbi Joseph Potasnik and Council Members Christopher Marte, a Democrat and Joann Ariola , a Republican from Queens .<\/p>\n

The Fire Museum is within Marte\u2019s District 1, while Ariola represents a Queens district that includes parts of Rockaway Beach, home to many firefighters and serves as Chair Of the Council\u2019s Fire And Emergency Management Committee.<\/p>\n

DeRubbio started in the role in October 2025, but has long maintained a deep connection to the city and the FDNY. A lifelong New Yorker, DeRubbio lost his uncle, David P. DeRubbio, in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. On Aug. 20, he made a point to thank everyone who helped bring the museum back, from FDNY members and volunteers to electricians and sanitation workers.<\/p>\n

DeRubbio shared that the Fire Museum would soon receive the World Trade Responder Bell, which they commissioned from the Marinelli Foundry in Italy, widely recognized as the oldest bell foundry<\/a> in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bell is to serve as a permanent memorial to the FDNY members who died from illnesses as a result of their exposure at Ground Zero, and the other responders who served alongside them,\u201d DeRubbio said. He added that the memorial will be unveiled at the 25-year anniversary ceremony in September.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything here, all the equipment, the pictures, the artifacts, the exhibits, they all tell a story of courage, innovation, sacrifice, and service,\u201d Commissioner Bonsignore said. \u201cWith the 25th anniversary of 9\/11 right around the corner, the museum takes on an even greater significance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council Members Marte and Ariola, who alongside City Council Speaker Julie Menin were instrumental in securing the $900,000 required to renovate the museum\u2019s roof, both said that the conversations needed for that process were \u201cthe easiest budget discussions\u201d they\u2019d ever had.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was because people understood what this building means,\u201d Marte said. Ariola emphasized the teamwork that went into reopening the museum.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a bipartisan team, which is how this city should always work,\u201d Ariola, one of five Republicans on the 51-member City Council, said. \u201cFor the fire department, it will always work that way.\u201d In a separate comment to Straus News, Ariola emphasized Marte\u2019s sentiment regarding how easy it was to garner support: \u201cWho could resist?\u201d<\/p>\n

Fire Museum Retail and Special Projects Coordinator Angela Rodriguez told Straus News that reopening the museum was \u201ca labor of love.\u201d Explaining that she grew up by a firehouse and also lost someone, a firefighter, on Sept. 11, Rodriguez grew visibly emotional sharing what the FDNY and museum meant to her.<\/p>\n

Pointing down, Rodriguez highlighted how the new museum entrance floor now features stylized patches from FDNY and EMS houses across the city. Both she and DeRubbio have spoken to the importance of representing all of the FDNY, especially EMS.<\/p>\n

The floor patches weren\u2019t all representing EMS by the entryway; former FDNY paramedic Tyrone Sims sat at the front desk. Sims said he was a paramedic for over two decades, starting at the FDNY in 2016 until he suffered an injury on the job.<\/p>\n

Despite that apparent bad luck, Sims had a warm smile for everyone passing through the Fire Museum\u2019s first day reopened to the public (which was free\u2013usually admissions prices range from $3-15).<\/p>\n

Active Manhattan firefighter Stefano brought his young son, Cristiano, to the museum on reopening day, both sporting navy FDNY tees. Stefano said it was good to see FDNY history and culture on display in the museum, being a \u201cbig fan\u201d of history himself. Walking through the exhibitions with Cristiano, Stefano highlighted key facts and curiosities, like many of their fellow visitors.<\/p>\n

The official museum of the FDNY is open to New Yorkers once again, but the work isn\u2019t done.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s next?\u201d DeRubbio posed the rhetorical question in his speech. \u201cLet\u2019s make this building home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As New York City approaches 25 years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":327106,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[120564,9,56,63,65,64],"class_list":["post-327105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-dominick-derubbio","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=327105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}