The museum built in Lincoln Park in Lima, Ohio, will preserve the history of the Lima Fire Department as well as all the technological changes they have implemented over the past 133 years. When the Lima Fire Department was first established in 1865, it was a volunteer organization consisting of seven men with their only equipment being six fire hooks. These hooks were used to pull burning thatch from the roofs of buildings. Over the years, however, the Lima Fire Department developed into a paid, highly trained force of 88 firefighters and support personnel working in a three platoon system. They are housed at the Central Fire Station and four outlying stations.
Equipment now includes seven pumpers, one aerial platform, two medic units, and a staff car.
Approximately 700 firefighters have served the city of Lima as members of the Lima Fire Department. More importantly, this museum will memorialize all firefighters who have served the Lima Community and especially the four Lima firefighters who have given their lives in the line of duty. I wish to offer my sincere gratitude to all who are serving or who served as Lima firefighters. They perform a valuable and dangerous task for the Lima community during times of great need. I honor each and every firefighter for their dedication, knowledge, and hard work, and hope that the Lima Firefighters Memorial Museum will stand as a tribute to each of them for all time.