National Museum of Civil Defense

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National Museum of Civil Defense

The National Museum of Civil Defense is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring and interpreting the history of the U.S.

Civil Defense and Emergency Management programs.

02/16/2026

SIREN SUNDAY: This bright yellow Federal Signal Systems 3T22 Outdoor Warning Siren on top of the Vigilant Hose Company No 6 station in Emmittsburg, MD was photographed by the NMCD Director in 2021. These omnidirectional sirens were both popular for fire companies as it can produce a "Hi-Lo" sound desirable for "Fire Calls."

02/12/2026

Sometimes, you just need your First Aid Kit to also be vacuum packed! This example in the NMCD Collections from the Clyde Robin Seed Company was clearly designed for long-term storage, we believe for home shelter use. The "P-38" can opener could be found under the plastic lid. The Clyde Robin Seed Company was founded in 1934, and also sold a "Survival Garden" can of seeds into at least the 1980s.

02/07/2026

DC-area Auxiliary Fire personnel pump water using Office of Civilian Defense supplied fire pumps loaded into the back of various commercial trucks in this undated WWII-era photo. Image courtesy the late Jim Embrey of the DC Fire And EMS Museum.

01/30/2026

One of the more unique Civil Defense patches we've seen, this patch from the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) in the NMCD Collections features more imagery from almost all of the common radiological instrumentation. The analog scale from the CD V-715/717/720 series high-range survey meters and CD V-742 dosimeter is at the top and bottom respectively. The CD V-715, CD V-700, and CD V-742 dosimeter are also shown. No further history is known about the origins of this patch or its designer.

01/21/2026

TRUCK TUESDAY: Beverly Emergency Management's Auxiliary Engine 23 in undated scanned slide from the collction of the late Mark Foster, longtime Emergency Manager fror Beverly, Massachusetts - City Government. Auxiliary Fire Service originated through Civil Defense planning for enemy attack to add volunteer capabliites to paid/professional departments. However, it became a capability utilized day-to-day, often for lighting or other tasks. The concept was common in Massachusetts and other northeastern states, but has waned in recent years.

12/29/2025

While visiting with staff of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Region I Emergency Operating Center located on the campus of the Tewksbury State Hospital, the NMCD Director found this fascinating plastic cube-shaped Drinking Water storage container while passing through an adjacent building. It appears to be an experimental National Fallout Shelter Program item with "SURVIVAL SUPPLIES" prominently molded into the plastic. The Cold War Museum has similar cylindrical plastic containers in its Collection, likely representing the Office of Civil Defense (now FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency ) desires for a less expensive container than the ubiquitous steel cans it originally procured. After a recent clean-out of the basement of the adjoining building that formerly housed a Law Enforcement training academy, this object had blended in with leaking cast iron piping and been saved from loss. Unfortunately, its red color appears to be more associated with long-term exposure to rust-filled water, and likely its original plastic color was more neutral.

12/23/2025

TRUCK TUESDAY: Thanks to NMCD Friend of the Museum Steve L. for these photographs of a REO-chassis Civil Defense Heavy Rescue that he found roadside in Pennsylvania in 2024. Nicknamed "Calamity Jane" by the Federal Civil Defense Administration (now FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency) after a popular Western heroine, these vehicles were part of the first efforts for preparedness for what was believed to be a predominantly conventional explosive and incindiary bombing attack pattern during the early to mid-1950s. Many "Calamity Jane" trucks were repainted in the usual department patterns during service lives that often extended into the 1970s and sometimes beyond.

12/17/2025

Thanks to the William H. Shierkolk family for their donation in October 2024 of this Denver Community Shelter Plan. CSP's were the major output desired of local emergency planners in the 1960s and into the early 1970s, prior to the development of Crisis Relocation Planning. CSP's sometimes were distributed by the newspaper. Often, these documents accompanied the "In Time of Emergency" booklet first published in 1968, a depiction of which is featured in this CSP.

12/12/2025

FALLOUT FRIDAY: Sometimes, you just can't save it all!

Often, emergency preparedness supplies are stored in less than desirable conditions. These CD V-777 series boxes resided in the basement of a fire station in southern Massachusetts, which flooded at some point. The instruments were mostly salvageable for NMCD's CD V-755 Radiation Education Set project, but these moldy boxes found their way to the cardboard recycling bin. Thanks to the NMCD Volunteer (Lizbeth C.!) who helped with repacking.

12/03/2025

In a 1981 interview with Los Angeles Times writer Robert Scheer (who later published a book entitled "With Enough Shovels"), T.K. Jones reportedly stated his support of improvised fallout shelters as "Dig a hole, cover it with a couple of doors and then throw three feet of dirt on top. It's the dirt that does it." Jones, one of the authors of a key 1976 study on Crisis Relocation Planning (https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA026362.pdf), was by then a Deputy Undersecretary of Defense in the Reagan Administration. Later in 1982, he testified before the Senate that he believed conflict with the Soviet Union was not winnable: https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/04/01/The-Pentagon-official-who-caused-a-furor-with-published/7293386485200/ . He remained of interest to the press and the public, the pictured flyer from the NMCD Archive depicts a Civil Defense protest event from 1983 in Santa Monica, CA. A similar event occured in Wisconsin in May of that year. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-dunn-county-news-shovels-wont-do-it/123125653/ . Jones passed away in 2015.

12/01/2025

It's been a busy few months for the NMCD Staff and Volunteers! The NMCD's Museum Artifact and Archive Center had to move into a new facility, and like anyone who's had a household move - you can't imagine how much there is to pack and carry until you do it! Many thanks to NMCD Volunteers (especially Lizbeth C. and David A.) who made it happen safely and quickly in the San Antonio heat! We continue to work on improving our Collections and Archival storage, while preparing to expand more general access for the CD V-755 Radiation Education Set project to support science and history education. There's just never enough hours or days!

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07/20/2025

SIREN SUNDAY: This Federal Signal Systems Model 1A outdoor warning siren must've fallen from its perch at a overseas DoD installation at some point since the mid-1970s. The latest this siren could've been produced is 1974, due to the presence of a Federal Stock Number, replaced by the National Stock Number that year. A separate, newer siren system had been installed in the more recent past. The siren had been carefully mowed around, likely believed to be some type of electrical equipment or similar. This rare siren has since been saved from its life as a lawn ornament.

Address

PO Box 784
Randolph Afb, TX
78150

Website

http://www.nationalmuseumofcivildefense.org/

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