Burning history

In the neighborhood Fanning the flames of history

Albany is rich in history, but there is one segment of the area’s story that has been, until recently, underrepresented at local museums. The Albany Firefighters Museum and one of its creators, Bill Tobler, aim to change that by sharing the city’s firefighting history through exhibits and artifacts dating back to 1773.

“Every day we’re discovering something new,” Tobler said. “We always find something that juts off to another avenue to explore.”

In December of last year, the museum opened its doors for an event that featured Albany City Historian Tony Opalka and invited visitors to take a trip back 240 years to the start of the volunteer firefighter period in Albany and work their way back to the present day. It also featured a unique type of auction that included parts of a historic Albany fire truck, to raise money for the facility.

It was one of the first public events for the museum since the pandemic. However, Tobler credits the pandemic with helping the museum gain more information about individual firefighters who served in the Albany Fire Department. In the few times that the museum was open to the public in 2021, visitors from as far away as Arizona and Los Angeles told stories of distant relatives who served.

“There’s not too much literature written by the guys themselves,” Tobler said. “It’s a hit and miss.”

A lot of the physical history, like reports or stories, no longer exist or are proving hard to find. The reports filed by the department were destroyed in a fire at Albany City Hall in the 1800s. Historians have no way to tell how many reports burned with the building. However, Tobler and other active or retired firefighters did catch a bit of luck. The team found a ledger dating back to 1801 that listed every Albany fire company in service until 1867. Approximately 10,000 in-

dividual firefighters who served during that time are listed. “We’re trying to explore the individual firefighters,” Tobler said. “We find a little information on a person and try to develop that as far as we can.” The museum fundraised by by auctioning off parts from the 1986 American LaFrance fire Cheyenne truck, Albany Engine No. 1. It was the first truck manufactured Wallace by the company in its Century 2000 series. The museum wanted to preserve as much of the engine as possible and figured that an auction would be the best way to raise money to do so. “We’re going to restore the cab and put that in the museum,” Tobler said.

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Many in attendance at the late December fundraiser were firefighters; some retired, some active with a mix of both volunteer and paid service. Others were police officers, fire history buffs and families.

The goal of the night was to raise enough money to continue the museum’s work of figuring out the past. In total, the event brought in $1,000, much of which came from the silent auction. Four pieces were sold off Albany Engine No. 1. The most expensive, a pump panel, sold for $310.

“The pump panel was sold to a retired Albany firefighter,” Tobler said. “They served as a pump operator on this pumper in the 1980s and 1990s at many fires.”

While the museum team regarded the fundraiser as a success, it also reminded them of the importance of retelling the history of fire service in the Capital District.

In 2014, Tobler and other retired and active firefighters thought there should be a firefighters museum. Tobler jokes that they were completely unaware of what they were walking into. He says there is a real passion for this museum, not just for Albany, but the entire region. In the early days of the museum, the team realized that local firefighting history went further back than they thought.

“Our biggest find was Tony Opalka, who’s now our museum director,” Tobler said. “He’s our heavy hitter.”

With Opalka’s help, the team was able to find artifacts like the ledger and access to common council minutes that weren’t destroyed in the Albany City Hall fire. The minutes were saved because of the multiple editions made that weren’t kept with the reports. There still isn’t a lot of information to get from the minutes, so the team also relies on the newspapers from the time and visitor stories.

There have been other big finds, too. One of those is the records of about 20 men who transferred from volunteer companies to the paid department. Out of the 20 firefighters, five were killed in the line of duty by 1890.

“We feel like there’s a brotherhood between that group that we can’t just totally dismiss,” Tobler said.

A unique and important artifact to the museum is an 18 karat solid gold badge with a diamond inlay and other jewels. The badge was donated by a retired Albany firefighter and is originally from the 1890s. There are many artifacts and interesting stories that go along with them on display at the museum.

Tobler hopes that more people become aware of the museum’s existence, but also that someone comes in with stories, information or documentation about a distant relative that served with the department.

“We think, in some ways, their stories should be told,” Tobler said.

The Albany Firefighters museum formed in 2014 to preserve the history of over 150 years of professional fire service protecting the City of Albany.

Albany Firefighters Museum

384 Broadway, Albany (518) 428-1025 www.albanyfirefightersmuseum.org Visits by appointment only.

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