The Fort Worth Fire Department has a rich history, but no museum. it’s a matter of money

The sound of a fire truck rushing to the rescue in Fort Worth was a little different a hundred years ago. Instead of sirens and car horns from a giant red truck, residents heard the clatter of hooves as horse-drawn carriages responded to calls for help.

These wagons were housed in fire stations designed to house horses from the department. To this day, one such building, Fire Station 12, sits empty on Prospect Avenue in the northern part of the city.

The Fort Worth Fire Museum Committee has big plans for the fire department, but it requires city approval. The committee, made up primarily of former firefighters, has been working for several years to raise funds to establish a fire department museum at the station.

What better place for a museum, they ask, than a fire station that is itself part of the city’s history?

“It will give them an idea of ​​where the fire department came from, how it started, and how it evolved into where it is,” said Royce Shields, deputy committee chairman of the Fort Worth Fire Department Museum.

Historic Fire Station 12 is empty on Prospect Avenue. (Christian ArgetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)

But the project hit a dead end. While some cities, like Dallas, lease out old fire stations to retired firefighters’ associations, Fort Worth’s city government would instead prefer the committee to buy the building outright, Shields said. At the moment, the commission has no funds for this. The city administration did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Even if the committee raises enough money to buy the station, it will have to spend another $1 million to bring the secular station up to standard. Shields hopes the strength of retired local firefighters will help turn things around.

“We have quite a few ex-firefighters and current firefighters in the different areas where they work, plumbers, electricians, and we had a lot of people who volunteered if we supply materials,” Shields said.

150 years of history

The Fort Worth Fire Department began, like many others around the country, as a volunteer brigade.

It was 1873, and poor-quality wood construction and fire hazards such as wood-burning stoves meant that fires broke out with alarming regularity throughout Fort Worth, which had a population of 500. A 60-member volunteer group known as the Hook-and-Ladder Company. No. 1, made up of merchants and other business leaders looking to protect their assets.

Today, the Fort Worth Fire Department employs over 1,000 people. To preserve the history of this growth, Shields and other retired firefighters began collecting artifacts from the past, including old fire engines; manual fire extinguishers; there were fire alarm stations before 9/11; and even an old Dewey horseshoe, described by firefighters as a white horse that was pulled by fire crews in the early 1900s.

These artifacts are hidden throughout Tarrant County; Shields keeps some small items in a warehouse she rents, while larger ones, like historic fire trucks, are parked on a remote ranch.

The Fort Worth Fire Department recently set aside part of the atrium of the Bob Bohlen Public Safety Complex to house some artifacts. They are located inside the glass cases and along the walls in the far left corner of the building.

One of Shields’ favorite artifacts was about to fall into disuse when he started working at the fire department. Before the advent of the 911 emergency call system, firefighters relied on fire alarm stations that were installed in different city blocks and sent an electrical signal to fire stations when the alarm went off.

“They were located in settlements where they were not far to go,” Shields said. “When I started work, we were already at the very end, and the children had a hard time when they graduated from school.”

Fire alarm station before the advent of the 911 emergency system. The station is one of dozens of department artifacts kept by retired firefighters. (Emily Wolf | Fort Worth Report)

Alton Bostic, another retired firefighter who was involved with the museum, visited museums across the state to come up with ideas for the Fort Worth Fire Department Museum. Many museums, especially those located in national parks and historic sites, show short films to help explain the history they hold.

“I think a place where you can show a small documentary, even if you don’t have much space for it, would be helpful,” he said.

For Bostic, this project is deeply personal. His family has a long history of service in the Fort Worth Fire Department; his father and two uncles served before him, and Bostick served alongside two cousins ​​and a son-in-law when he was a firefighter.

According to him, his son-in-law has two sons working in the department.

Bostick remembers the first time it occurred to him that his father was a firefighter when he was about 5 years old, and he had to get into the fire truck and manually turn on the siren. He wants to give other kids the chance to experience truck jumping, and the museum committee hopes to do just that by partnering with local school districts and running educational tours.

Other fire museums operate in North Texas.

Firefighter museums have already been established in several cities in North Texas. There are weekly fire museums in Denton, Dallas and McKinney.

The Dallas Museum has been open for over 50 years and is staffed by both former and current firefighters. In 2009, the city entered into a 30-year lease on the historic firehouse with the museum’s board.

According to the Dallas Museum’s website, it can run on donations from firefighters and admission tickets; of the department’s nearly 2,000 firefighters, approximately 65 percent contribute monthly to the museum.

The museum’s committee is working with the International 440 Firefighters Association, the union representing Fort Worth’s firefighters, to propose a similar funding mechanism.

Under the department’s collective bargaining agreement, union members agree to a biweekly payroll deduction that goes to IAFF 440. The city must be given 30 days’ notice of any change in the amount of the deduction.

Shields is in talks with IAFF 440 President Michael Glynn for a payroll deduction to help raise money to purchase Station 12. Additional payroll deductions will be voluntary.

The Denton Fire Museum is newer, having opened in 2005. It operates out of the historic Central Fire Station, where visitors can sign up for guided tours or explore the museum on their own.

The McKinney Fire Department Museum operates out of the Wysong Central Fire Station, built in 2006. The building is multi-purpose, it contains both active cargo compartments and one museum compartment. The museum was founded by retired battalion commander Darrell Groves.

Beaumont also operates a state fire department museum, first opened in 1984.

Station 12’s proximity to existing tourist attractions, such as stockyards, would be a big advantage in attracting visitors, Bostick said.

“I wanted it to be a museum where people who came, visited and went home said to their neighbor: “You have to go and see this museum. You will love it and your children will never forget it,” she said. “For me, I don’t see a single downside and I think Fort Worth will be the destination city.”

Emily Wolf is a reporter for the Fort Worth Report responsible for government reporting. Contact her at [email protected] or through tweet.

At Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of board members and financial backers. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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