The Texas Fire Museum is housed in the old Dallas Fire
Department Maintenance Facility at 2600 Chalk Hill in West
Dallas. Construction of this facility began in 1960, and it was
completed by June 1961. This newly constructed 35,000 square
foot building was the Dallas Fire Department’s first facility
dedicated to the service, repair, and commission of active fire
apparatus. The 125,000 square foot complex was used until 1987,
when the maintenance shop moved to a new facility in East
Dallas. The old Chalk Hill facility was left vacant until 1999,
when the Texas Fire Museum acquired the rights to restore and
use the facility. In February 2000, the Texas Fire Museum began
the restoration and clean up process to turn the old
maintenance facility into a museum and apparatus restoration
center. From its humble beginning with 13 volunteers, the
museum has grown into an organization with over 175 members.
Our members have documented well over 25,000 volunteer labor
hours cleaning, restoring, and maintaining the museum.
Today, the Texas Fire Museum is a very
successful organization dedicated to the preservation and
display of antique fire apparatus and the education of the
public on the history of the Fire Service. Our facility offers
many amenities that are still considered state-of-art for any
active fire maintenance service center. Some of these amenities
include 1500 square foot apparatus paint booth; an indoor pump
test room with a 25,000 gallon, below ground cistern; a heavy
duty overhead crane; hoists; and compressed air stations
throughout the facility. Since this building was originally
designed to maintain fire apparatus, it now serves as an
ideal place to display, preserve, and restore antique fire
apparatus. We also have a full kitchen and a dormitory for any
overnight stays. Although the accommodations are very modest,
this has been very popular with scout groups and the
occasional traveling guest.
While at the Texas
Fire Museum, visitors can also tour Dallas Fire Rescue Station
16. Our museum facility actually surrounds this active fire
station with a shared common parking area between the two
buildings. The fire station was built at the same time the old
maintenance facility was constructed.
You can read more about
Station 16 and
Dallas
Fire Rescue by navigating the browser links provided. |