In Denim, Fort Worth Firefighters Protect Stock Show, Rodeo

Fort Worth Fire Station 80 closes today, but it will return next year.

The station opens each January for the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and it gives the firefighters easy access to the grounds. Over a million people attend the 20-day event, which includes more than 15 buildings and arenas and parking lots on close to 20 acres. 

And the firefighters working there don’t wear the typical gray t-shirts and shorts that Fort Worth crews are known to wear.

Their uniforms consist of jeans, cowboy boots and hats and custom-made denim shirts that are embroidered with their name, rank and the Fort Worth Fire Department logo.

“Most people think you come here and relax on this assignment,” said Mark Espinosa, an 18-year veteran of the department. “There are literally days here when I’m busier than I would be at the station.”

He normally works at Station 12, which is first-due to the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, where the stock show and rodeo used to take place.

It’s like any other fire station, with an apparatus bay housing an engine and two response carts.

But the living quarters are pretty cozy. The office, break room and bunk room are all one, thanks to Murphy beds. And during the day, that room is hopping.

One day last week, off-duty and retired firefighters were stopping by to say hello or to pick up a FWFD Station 80 t-shirt. And, like any other fire station, kids see the big fire truck in the apparatus bay and stop to say hello and check out the equipment.

“You have to be a little bit of an entertainer,” Espinosa said. “You never know who will show up. The mayor, an ex-mayor or children. People just like to stop and say hello when they see we’re here.”

They average six to eight calls for help during the weekdays. On the weekends, its doubles.

They primarily respond with two carts, equipped with EMS gear and a stretcher. The pumper stays back in the station, unless it’s a fire run.

“Being here, we can get their quicker than a fire truck could get through the crowds,” Espinosa said.

The three shifts that work the show have to familiarize themselves with the property, which also includes a carnival midway.  

“We use a lot of Albuterol and nebulizers” Espinosa said about the difficulty breathing responses that are common.

The dust that’s kicked up from the dirt, animal bedding and hay can cause havoc for those who already suffer from asthma or other breathing related issues.

“It’s a great break from the grind of the station,” said Firefighter Todd Brook. 

He shared some of the past incidents, including hand injuries from ropes, a variety of head and fall injuries and a recent call where a young girl suffered a serious hip injury when an animal fell on her.

Reflecting on his second year at Station 80, Capt. David Collard said; “This is Fort Worth. That’s why I’m here. I can’t explain it.”

“That’s why I work in the stockyards because I love the history of it all,” he said. Espinosa and Brook also work at Station 12.

Deputy Chief Homer Robertson said the fire department has been staffing the station at the stock show since the 1920s.

The on-duty firefighters, plus a few retirees who were visiting, recalled some of the more memorable incidents.

Just a few years ago during the nightly rodeo, a bull got loose and jumped into the stands

“It was like wow, look at that!” Collard recalled. “We just tried to get the people out of the way…he ended up running down the hallway.”

During a chuck wagon race, a competitor suffered a head injury after falling off the wagon, but the trouble was getting to the victim. The horses pulling the cart continued galloping in circles, blocking their access to the victim until rodeo officials could slow the horse.

And they have also found a few dumpsters filled with bedding material and hay blazing.

As they continued to reminiscence about the incidents in the past, the phone rang requesting the firefighters.

A young girl riding in the barrel race suffered a leg injury. 

The three firefighters jumped on the carts and headed off to an arena where they tended to the girl whose injuries were minor.