Military Firefighter Heritage Foundation at Goodfellow AFB: Preserving Fire Service History

The Military Firefighter Heritage Foundation (MFHF) operates from Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas—home to the Department of Defense's only joint-service firefighter training pipeline. The foundation preserves the history, honors the fallen, and supports the continuum of military fire protection.

Location & Access

• Address: 1310 Flight Line Ave, Goodfellow AFB, TX 76908
• Building: Bldg 908 (historic fire station — original 1941 structure)
• Base Access: Military ID or visitor pass required (contact MFHF in advance for sponsorship)
• Hours: By appointment / scheduled events (typically M-F 0800-1600)

Mission & Activities

1. Historical Preservation

• Artifact collection: Vintage apparatus (1940s crash trucks), helmets, nozzles, alarm systems, photography
• Oral history program: Interviews with retired DoD firefighters (WWII-Korea-Vietnam-Gulf eras)
• Archive: Training manuals, incident reports, lineage documents for 3E7X1 (Fire Protection) AFSC

2. Memorial & Recognition

• DoD Firefighter Memorial: On-site monument — names of all line-of-duty deaths since 1947
• Annual Memorial Ceremony: First Saturday in October (Fire Prevention Week)
• Fallen Firefighter Family Support: Scholarship fund, peer network

3. Education & Outreach

• Fire safety education for base schools, youth groups
• Heritage briefings for new 3E7X1 trainees (Goodfellow trains all USAF, Army, Navy, Marine firefighters)
• Public exhibits during San Angelo community events

4. Goodfellow AFB Context

Goodfellow is the DoD's Fire Protection Center of Excellence:

• Trains ~2,000 firefighters/year (initial skills + advanced: ARFF, HAZMAT, rescue, officer)
• Hosts Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy
• Joint service: USAF (lead), Army (544th EN Det), Navy (CNATT), Marine (MOS 7051)
• 17th Training Wing — also trains intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) specialists

Visiting & Supporting

• Contact: mfhf@goodfellow.af.mil / (325) 654-3440 (DSN 472-3440)
• Donations: 501(c)(3) nonprofit — artifacts, funds, volunteer time
• Events: Fire Prevention Week open house, Memorial Day ceremony, Giving Tuesday campaign
• Virtual: Digital archive at mfhf.org (photos, oral histories, roll of honor)

For military firefighters past and present, the MFHF at Goodfellow isn't just a museum—it's the institutional memory of a dangerous, essential, and often overlooked profession.