In 1955 the Austin Fire Department created a 12 page pamphlet describing life at Austin’s Central Fire Station #1.  Our current Central Fire Station #1, located at 401 E. 5th St. in downtown Austin, was built in 1938 and replaced the Old Central Fire Station (1885) at 114 W. 8th St.  When it opened, Centrals was described as one of the most modern fire stations in The United States in a 1945 Fire Engineering Magazine article.  Its Art Deco style and street corner location with truck bays facing two different streets made the station stand out as a model design.  The fire station is a two-story structure that originally had the Fire Chief’s office, dispatcher’s alarm room, and day-room downstairs.  Today, the area that originally housed the Fire Chief’s office and alarm office is occupied by Austin-Travis County EMS Medic 6.  The day-room is still used by the firefighters as a TV and training room.  The upstairs portion of the station is still very similar to its 1938 design, although it has been slightly expanded and remodeled over the years.  There are two brass fire poles that lead from pole closets in the dormitory and are commonly referred to as Engine 1 or Engine 50’s pole due to their location.  Of the 45 fire stations in Austin, only Station 1 and Station 2 have fire poles. Read the rest of this entry »

One of our newest acquisitions we have obtained is an old badge from West Austin Fire Company #7.  The West Austin #7 fire company was located in our current Fire Station #4 at 1000 Blanco St.  For this year’s Austin Fire Museum San Jacinto Celebration (April 21) we will be featuring an exhibit on the history of the Blanco St. fire station which served as West Austin #7 from 1904-1916 and Fire Station 4 from 1916-present.  This is the only current fire station in the Austin Fire Department that dates to the horse-drawn era of firefighting.

The 2009 Austin Fire Museum Calendar features old photographs of Austin firefighters and fire incidents spanning every decade from the 1890’s to the 1970’s.  The calendar measures 11X17 when fully opened and each month includes a full 8X10 photo.  The calendar also includes the 2009 Austin Fire Department shift schedule.

The price is $6 for current museum members and $8 each for non-members.  Ask about becoming a member to receive a free calendar.  We hope you’ll enjoy this calendar for yourself, or as a gift for someone interested in Austin history or general fire history. Read the rest of this entry »

Retired Lt. Ken Merrell passed away this past weekend with family in St. Louis after battling lung cancer. Ken was invited to be our first retired AFD member on our Fire Museum board in 2004. He served for that first year and was involved in many of the decisions that led up to the creation of the Austin Fire Museum in 2005. He had to resign from his position due to his cancer diagnosis and subsequent move to St. Louis. We asked Ken to be a part of the first museum board because he had a love for the job and the traditions of the Austin Fire Department. Read the rest of this entry »