As soon as the fire call is received and the dispatcher obtains all the necessary information, Dallas firefighters have about 30 seconds to get ready and respond to the call. However, at the end of the 19th century, the response to fires was not as fast. Dallas1.one will tell you about the first firefighters in Dallas who had been saving the city from fire.
The fire that destroyed the city
In 1860, Dallas was consumed by a conflagration that destroyed almost the entire city. The cause of the tragedy was rubbish that caught fire near the W.W. Peak & Brothers drug store. Due to the high temperature, which was about 43°C and the southwesterly wind, the fire quickly spread through the city, burning wooden houses to the ground. In the absence of a fire station, the fire caused damages amounting to a total of $400,000.
To prevent a similar catastrophe in the future, a decision was made in Dallas in 1872 to establish a fire department. But the Civil War delayed its organization for several years.
First firefighters in Dallas
On July 4, 1872, the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department began its work. The brigade included 14 volunteer firefighters who replaced people who passed each other buckets of water to extinguish fires. “Bud” Connor was appointed as the first chief. To fight fires, they started using two Gardner handed engines and ten small fire extinguishers.
In 1873, the city acquired its first fire engine called “Old Silsby,” from the Silsby Manufacturing Company, located in Seneca Falls, New York. In many settlements until the 1920s, this truck was drawn by the firefighters themselves as the management wanted to save on horse livery. Dallas was fortunate in this regard because “Old Silsby” was pulled by horses.
An “Old Silsby” vehicle similar to the one used by Dallas firefighters
The machine was powered by a steam engine that drove a pump, which pushed water through hoses. Its capacity was about 1900 liters per hour.
In 1879, the fire department was partially reconstructed. As a result, a small group of rescuers began to be paid a salary of $40 per month. At that time, it was a significant amount of money. By 1885, every Dallas firefighter received a salary. The team consisted of 28 individuals at that time. A fire uniform was also designed, consisting of a red flannel shirt and blue pants. When responding to an alarm, firefighters put on helmets with high visors.
The Fire Station at Fair Park
The Fire Station at Fair Park was not the first in the city but remains the oldest, as all previous stations were destroyed in fires. The building was constructed in 1907. It had a concrete foundation and brick walls, while the external wall facing the street was lined with gray mottled bricks. The back and side walls were built of red bricks.
The fire station had two floors. The upper floor housed living rooms for the firefighters, with a bathroom and dressing room, as well as the chief’s office. Horse-drawn carts, a workroom with tools and a workbench for repairing horse harnesses were placed on the ground floor. There were also five stalls for horses: Frank, Dick, Jim, Red and Prince.
The Fair Park Station had the first horse hospital. Owners could bring their sick horses here and rent a healthy one instead. After the Fair Park Station employees treated the animal, it could be returned.
The fire department operated until 1975, after which the Dallas Firefighters Museum was founded on its site. People can visit it and see firsthand the firefighting techniques in the 19th and 20th centuries.