The Fireman Of The Three Corners

There is never a dull moment at Station 56 ...

Dallas Fire Station #56 sits on the southeast Corner of Hillcrest and Belt Line Road and just east of the Fretz Park Library. I call the area immediately surrounding Fretz Park the "Three Corners" which referrs to the Prestonwood subdivisions east and west of Hillcrest, the Spring Creek Subdivision, and all of Northwood Hills. I focus the majority of my effort as a successful Residential Realtor in the Three Corners. Blink when you pass Station 56 and you’ll miss seeing it. The station's non-descript exterior belies its importance. I had the opportunity to visit with 17 year department veteran, Captain Charley Lopez, recently about the station and the day to day life of being a fireman.

My visit left me with a feeling of deep gratitude for the job these public servants perform, day after day, protecting the lives and property of the good citizens of Dallas. Station 56 is an “engine” company which is different than a “truck” company. Their equipment consists of a fire engine and a chief’s car. Their job, according to Captain Lopez, is to “put the water on the fire” saving homes, businesses, and property from destruction. For this task they carry hoses, a few ladders, and a lot of H2O … approximately 500 gallons. A fire truck, on the other hand, is primarily involved in the saving and rescue of lives. A truck would carry lots of ladders, hooks and poles to pull down walls and tear through roofs, sledge hammers to break down doors, and maybe even an extreme rescue contraption called the “jaws of life”.

Some of the fireman at station 56 have been there for as many as 30 years. The rookies, and occasionally they have some, have 2 years of training including extensive paramedical instruction. The station is manned 24/7 by a crew of 18 to 24 firemen who work in a 6 man rotation. Firemen work a consistent 24 hour shift of one day on and two days off. And yes, they cook for themselves, each fireman contributing about $10/man/shift for food. As to who does the cooking, that depends. Some fireman love to cook and volunteer for the position. Others cook by rotation. In certain rare cases, some of the firemen are paid NOT to cook! Captain Lopez reports that as with the rest of the nation, they are eating in a more “health conscience” fashion these days.

We focused briefly on what the average citizen can do to make their homes in the 3 corners safer. Like so much in life, it appears that it’s the simple things that matter most. Suggestions for a safer home include changing the batteries in your smoke detector, keeping a well maintained fire extinguisher at “the ready’, and making sure that your family had a well rehearsed exit plan. The Captain pointed out that in these days of conspicuous consumption, many homes simply have too much “stuff”, much of which doesn’t get discarded in a timely fashion. Too much “stuff” in a fire means a hotter, more intense fire, and one that is harder to extinguish. Also, furniture, piles of books and magazines, assorted toys, etc make the physical act of escaping harder to accomplish. So if you are lookin’ for a reason to clean up the ‘ole homestead, Captain Lopez just gave you a good one!

Finally, a word about the fire pole at Station 56. There isn’t one! It turns out that the fire pole was in itself a dangerous enterprise that resulted in a lot of injuries, as firemen often landed on top of one another. Not exactly the “safety first” example firemen across the country have always tried to paint!