North Charleston, SC, Fire Museum to Close after Apparatus Owners Reclaim Fire Trucks
Officials said that the North Charleston Fire Museum will shut down next week after owners of the museum's nearly two fire apparatus on display have decided to sell their vehicles.
The fire apparatus were listed on auction house RM Sotheby's website earlier this week, ABCNews4.com reports.
The museum opened in 2007 with a collection of over 20 fire apparatus on a long-term loan. The museum had the largest collection of restored American LaFrance fire apparatus in the country.
When American LaFrance opened a factory in nearby Moncks Corner, they helped open the museum, but American LaFrance shut down in 2014.
North Charleston officials said that, without the fire apparatus collection, they would no longer be able to operate.
The museum remains open until Feb. 14 and officials said admission will be free.
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Peter Matthews
Editor-in-Chief/Conference Director
Peter Matthews is the conference director and editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood Landing, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department and currently is a photographer for the Fort Worth, TX, Fire Department.