Jacobs Approves $1.3 million in Funds Targeted for Nassau County Firefighters Museumt

Nassau County Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury) recently approved a $1.3 million grant which will allow construction to begin on the long-planned Nassau County Firefighters Museum and Education Center to be built next to the Cradle of Aviation in Uniondale.

The Nassau County Firefighters Museum and Education Center (Fire Museum) will be a nonprofit educational corporation that will be dedicated to informing the public about fire safety through exhibitions, educational programming, publications and commemorative events. The museum will also promote the public’s knowledge of and appreciation for the county’s local volunteer fire services heritage through the collection, restoration, and exhibition of historic and contemporary firematic memorabilia and equipment.

“The Fire Museum will be located in a converted aircraft hangar on the County’s “Museum Row” which currently consists of the Cradle of Aviation and the Long Island Children’s Museum,” said Presiding Officer Jacobs. “The addition of the Fire Museum will be a major key step forward towards our goal to develop a series of world class museums that serves as a major educational, cultural and tourist attraction in the northeast.”

Visitors to the Fire Museum will be guided through a series of interactive displays that follow the path of a fictional fire emergency, and will also learn about the history of Nassau County volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians, and fire prevention.

The Fire Museum has already received significant support from the community with all of the County’s 71 volunteer fire departments already united to provide volunteer services and raise funds for the Fire Museum—to date over $1,500,000 has been raised with $700,000 raised by museum organizers.

The County is planning a ground-breaking for August 9, 2005 at the site.