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| Station Number #37 | Companies Assigned | |
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6742 Greenville Avenue
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Engine 37
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Truck 37
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Rescue 37
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updated 04/11/2008 |
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| Station #37 was built in 1954 to provide fire protection to the annexed
rural community of Vickery. Firefighters who worked at #37 in the 1950s
claim it was the "loveliest" station in Dallas; surrounded by mimosa trees,
in an undeveloped area of pasture land, with nearby farm homes, riding stables,
and private lakes. Then Blackwell Street (its cross street) was a block
long, and a few apartments dotted Northwest Highway; none had been built
north of the station. During #37s early years, crews spent many hours doing
yard work. Firefighters parked on the street-no one parked on the carefully
maintained grass. The station had a wooden hose rack and no air conditioning
(there was an attic fan in the wall). A fallout shelter was added in the
mid-1960s after the Cuban missile crisis. Station #37 opened with an engine and reserve truck, and a first alarm district which included everything east of Inwood Road and north of Mockingbird Lane as far as the Collin County line. Even with so many miles to cover, Engine 37 rarely had more than two runs a shift, and those were typically grass fires. In subsequent years, those pastures have been covered with acre upon acre of apartments-the highest residential density in the city. The lumberyards along Greenville (which provided the biggest fires in the station's early years) have been replaced by busy restaurants, night spots, and light retail businesses. While the district is only a fraction of its former size, the average number of runs per shift has tripled, from 2 to 6 a shift. To keep pace with area growth, the rescue was assigned to #37 in the late 1950s, a truck was moved from Station #27 in 1967, and Rescue 37 was put in service when the Department began providing emergency medical care in November, 1972. A plaque over the doorway of Station #37 was erected by firefighter friends of Riley Hurst. It reads, "In Memory of RILEY C. HURST, SR., #37 Engine "A" Shift, Who Died in the Line of Duty on December 23, 1975." Hurst was killed at a five alarm fire at the Athena condominium, 6335 West Northwest Highway. Arriving companies were faced with heavy and frantic human activity as residents crowded at the windows, some of which were broken out. Rescue operations were complicated by the extent of the fire which soon flashed the length of the 14th floor, trapping Hurst and Captain Ralph Lack, Engine 27 A. The other most memorable fire in #37 first alarm district is the Willow Creek Apartment five alarm fire, march 21, 1983, the largest apartment fire in Dallas history. Firefighters from #37 A shift were at the scene from 8:38 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. While the March 1983 fire is the largest Willow Creek fire, all three shifts at #37 have fought multiple alarm fires at the location. |
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