Tucked away behind Crosby Fire Station, the Merseyside Fire Service museum has a great collection of artefacts and memorabilia celebrating 200 years of fire fighting. There are belt-buckles, brass helmets, ladders, sets of breathing apparatus - and a collection of fire engines. Lucky visitors are sometimes offered the chance of a ride in one of the roadworthy vehicles, sadly without blue lights flashing and sirens wailing!  | | Breathing apparatus and helmets on show. |
Inside there's a workshop where restoration is carried out - when we visited there was a fire engine based on a VW camper van being rebuilt. Going through from the workshop is the main exhibition room where the people and gear that have been involved in fire fighting on Merseyside are remembered.  | | Former RAF fire engine now at Crosby. |
The collection is impressive, with large and small items on display, but it's the volunteers who run the museum that really impress. We were shown round by Danny Murphy, former fire fighter and founder member of the museum. His knowledge and enthusiasm gave much more value to our visit, but what really made the experience was Danny's knack of using real stories and anecdotes about the fire service to bring the exhibits to life. By explaining how changes in equipment have affected fire-fighters daily lives and sharing the exploits of his colleagues in the fire service Danny brought the museum to life. It's one of Merseyside's smaller museums, but there's lots to see. Whatever your age it's a fascinating place to visit. You'll find the museum behind Crosby Community Fire Station on Crosby Road North. It's run by volunteers, so please ring before turning up for a look round. Their number is 0151 928 8172. | 
