Firemen photo
Courtesy: Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association and the estate of Retired Battalion Chief Jim Noah.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
By Megan Cardona
October 13, 2022 3:34 PM
The countdown to celebrating 100 years of Fort Worth’s oldest operating fire station began after a house fire in the Arlington Heights neighborhood left the community traumatized.
A home on Hillcrest Street caught on fire during a night in December 2012 while its residents were away and was quickly consumed by the flames.
Christina Patoski, former Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association president, said the fire was an eye-opener for the neighborhood.
“It was so scary to all of us,” she said. “You just realize it’s so close and it could have happened to any of us.”
In 2013 a Hillcrest Fire Fund was started for the residents impacted by the fire and the neighborhood association hosted a 90th anniversary for Fire Station No. 18, located at the corner of Camp Bowie Boulevard and Carleton Avenue.
The event was a success and Patoski said she made a passing remark of turning the celebration into an annual “Countdown to 100” for the station.
This year marks 99 years since Fire Station No. 18 opened atc1908 Carleton Ave. in October 1923. The bungalow style building has two garage bays and is one of the oldest buildings in the Arlington Heights Neighborhood.
The 99th anniversary celebration, organized by the Arlington Heights and Crestline Area neighborhood associations, will be on Oct. 23 from 4:30-7 p.m. featuring live music, free food, a bounce house and family-friendly games and activities.
Patoski said Carleton Avenue will be closed to street traffic during the event, allowing room for fire trucks to line up in the roadway for people to view.
This year’s event will also honor Fire Station No. 18 veterans Lt. Stephen Boynton and Engineer David Greene, who died in September.
At nearly 100 years old, Fire Station No. 18 holds much history behind its walls.
By the 1970s the building was at risk of being torn down, but was saved and underwent renovations in the mid-1980s, preserving the exterior but changing the inside.
Rumors that the historic station is haunted have also passed down through the years, Patoski said. Mysterious, unexplained experienced have been reported by firefighters like the sounds of loud footsteps, heavy doors slamming, toilets flushing and finding the fire hose unraveled.
Next year will mark Fire Station No. 18’s centennial celebration, but plans have not been released. For now, Patoski said they’re taking it one year at a time.