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The fire station at Fair Park
has served the City of Dallas with distinction for almost a century.
In the first three-quarters of that century, from its erection in
1907 until May 2, 1975, it was an active firehouse. Since that time
it has served as
the Dallas Firefighters Museum. Its importance to the community is
undeniable and its place within Dallas’ history has been well
recognized. The firefighters stationed there have contributed
to the safety and security of the surrounding districts during that
lengthy period.
The Fair
Park Station was built, in the words of then Fire Department Chief
H.F. Magee, in 1906, “on account of the rapid growth of the city in
that location, as well as for the protection of city property”.
Chief Magee announced in 1907 that the city was going to build and
equip a station at the corner of Kentucky and Parry Ave. This
station was to have a combination chemical and hose wagon and a hook
and ladder truck.
The Fair Park Fire Station
measures 63 feet across and 80 feet deep. The foundation was made of
concrete with the structure rising two stories. The walls are
constructed of brick with the outer wall being a mottled gray face
brick on the street sides. The rear and side walls were of a red
brick. The brick were made in Elgin, Texas and all of the other
materials for the station were made in the Dallas area or from
Texas. On the first floor are accommodations for the three pieces of
apparatus, the feed rooms, the fuel rooms, a workroom with tools and
workbench for the repair of the horse’s harnesses. There were also
five horse stalls that measured 10 by 13 feet and had a floor of
sand. In front of each apparatus was a high double door that opened
outward. This allowed the firemen to be at their positions and
emerge from the station at full speed. The second floor consisted of
the living spaces for the firemen. This consisted of a living room,
a large bathroom, and a locker room that contained a
three-compartmented locker for each man. The chief that was
stationed there had an office on the second floor also. The roof
over the one story feed rooms was to be used for the “sunning” of
the bedding and clothing of the men and also used as a “summer
garden” in the evening. The station began operations in late 1907 as
Station No. 10. Assigned to Station 10 was Hose # 3, Hook and Ladder
# 3, and District Chief 3. Assigned to the new station were
assistant Chief J.L. Marder, Captain A.W. Coffman, W.W. Lane, John
Hamlin, C.T. Dixon, C.H. Newman, W.J. Kramer, O.B. Hurt, O.L.
Patterson, W.W. Karnes, S.M. Delaney, and A.M. McNeil. Along with
these men, there were five tried and true veterans of the
department, the horses. Frank, a fine roan horse, pulled Chief
Magee’s buggy while Dick and Jim pulled the Truck. Red and Prince
who were transferred from the Ervay Street fire station pulled the
engine. This station had several notable firsts in its history. This
station had the first “horse hospital” for the Dallas Fire
Department. In the days of true “horse power”, if your horse got
sick, they brought him here and they gave you a loaner horse. In the
meantime, the members of the Fair Park Station took care of the
horse and made sure he was fit for duty. At that time, they would
give the company their horse back and take the loaner horse back
into the pool of horses. This was only one of two stations that ever
had horse hospitals at them.
Within a short time of the
station going in service, a group of neighbors came by bringing
fruits, flowers, and good things to eat. The firemen were treated to
a house warming party and the firemen vowed to keep open the station
one evening a week for the visitation of the people of the
Exposition Park section of town. The station became a social and
meeting point for the community and the firemen became a valued
neighbor to the community. Also the fire companies became well
known and respected as a fire fighting team. Their calls started to
increase and in 1911, Hook and Ladder 3 responded to 272 alarms and
used 4,205 feet of ladders for the year. During that same time, Hose
3 responded to 225 alarms and laid 40,600 feet of hose for the year.
In 1912, Engine Company 10 was assigned to the Fair Park Station.
It’s history changes with the advance of firefighting technology
during the first half of the twentieth century. The stations
operation captures the impact of innovation and modernization. In
the late teens and the early twenties, the fire department started
phasing out the horses and began moving into the motorized era of
the Department. In 1926, a “joker system” was installed allowing the
electronic communication of
 messages and alarms to the firemen
through a device employing a telegraphic, punch paper tape. This was
a major advancement for the Department and the Fair Park Fire
Station tested the prototype. This required that the company numbers
that ended in “0” had to be renumbered because you could not punch a
“0” in the tape. Old station 5 at Bryan and Hawkins was closed and
the Fair Park Station was renumbered to 5’s and all apparatus was
renumbered for the station. Thus Engine 10 became Engine 5 and Hook
and Ladder 3 became Truck 5.
In 1968 the Dallas Fire
Counsel, which was made up of 30 citizens that were interested in
the fire service, discussed the idea of a Museum and suggested to
then Chief Penn to establish a Museum in the Dallas Fire Department.
Chief Penn appointed a committee to study the feasibility of
constructing a Museum. The committee was made up from members of the
community, Box 4, and the Fire Department. These members were George
Thomas, Phil Lux, Sidney Quinn, Darrell Scott, M.C. Hendrix, Dodd
Miller, and Jerry Lambert. The committee decided that there was
enough interest to justify the formulation of a Museum and
permission was granted to use part of Fire Station No. 5 for that
purpose. The seven committeemen became the first board of directors
and set up the first bylaws for the Museum. The decision was made to
incorporate as a non-profit organization and a 50-year charter was
granted by the State of Texas for the corporation on August 28,
1970. Building the Museum was started in 1972 after Truck 5 was
moved to new Station 19. It was completed in three phases. Phase 1
was completed on schedule in April of 1972. This consisted of moving
all of the fire station facilities of No. 5 Station to the ground
floor so that Engine 5 could operate independently. Phase 2 was
completed in June of 1972 and consisted of constructing the office
and record keeping area on the second floor. Phase 3 was completed
by October 1, 1972 and consisted of arranging the Museum Itself. The
plans called for the display area to be modeled as nearly as
possible to a fire station. The Museum was ready for the opening of
the Texas State Fair that is directly across the street. The City
of Dallas declared the Museum as a City of Dallas landmark that
year. In 1975, Engine 5 was moved to the northern part of the city
as Truck 57 and the Museum took over their quarters. The Museum sits
today as she closed as an active fire station on May 2, 1975.
Many people have passed
through the doors of the Museum since its inception in 1972 with an
annual attendance of around 5,000 visitors. Generally half of these
are children that come and pretend what it is like to ride on that
big red truck and learn how to protect themselves and their families
from the dangers of fire. The Museum is associated with the Dallas
Convention and Visitors Bureau, The Dallas Historical Society, and
the Fair Park Marketing Center. The Museum is funded from the
members of the Department through payroll deduction and through an
admission charge. If the members contribute 24 dollars or more to
the Museum a year, they become members of the Museum. The purpose
and mission of the Dallas Firefighters Museum is to provide the City
of Dallas with a thriving and a well-attend ed historical and
educational asset. The Museum teaches fire safety, honors the fallen
heroes of the Department, preserves the firefighting heritage and
possibly help save the lives of some of our guests. The Museum
preserves the history of firefighting in Dallas through professional
quality restoration and the display of vintage tools, apparatus, and
memorabilia. The Museum also teaches safety through an interactive
hands-on educational experience targeted for children in the second
grade and older. It is intended to develop an awareness and
appreciation for safety and accident prevention. Additional programs
will be able to provide materials for parents, teachers, and others.
As the centennial for the
Dallas Firefighters Museum draws near, its future is as bright as
the day it opened in 1907. The Board of Directors is working to
secure its future through the twenty first century and to ensure
that the young and old benefit from its history and educational
opportunities. It has anchored itself in Dallas as a sought after
tourist attraction that “will be a place where time is suspended…a
place where rookie and old-timer alike may stand for a moment, with
hat in hand, and perhaps give a silent thought to all those
smoke-eaters who have gone before…”.
References:
The Dallas Firefighter, Volume
13, Number 3, March 1972
The Dallas Firefighter, Volume 13, Number 4, April 1972
Dallas Municipal Handbook, 1912-1913
Parade Magazine, December 1972
Dallas Morning News, November 1907
Dallas Firefighters
Museum, Inc.
3801 Parry Avenue (across
from Fair Park)
Dallas, Texas 75226
(214) 821-1500
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