Grand Prairie's historic Central Fire Station sits on what used to be US Hwy 80, known as the "Main Street of America." In Grand Prairie, this is still Main Street, although the US Hwy 80 has been dropped from the US Highway system and the road is now known as Texas State Highway 180.
The station was built in 1949. It matches the two city buildings across the street that were built by the same architectural firm at the same time. One of those buildings served then as City Hall, but today serveds as a City hall Annex.
In 1999 this station was renovated on the inside and renamed the "J. C. Swadley Jr. Central Fire Station."
The dedication plaque at the station reads as follows:
JACOB C. SWADLEY JR.
Grand Prairie’s First Fire Chief
It was almost as if Jacob C. Swadley (often known as J.C.) was born to be a fireman. His father J. S. Swadley Sr., organized the Grand Prairie volunteer fire department in 1917, built a makeshift station, and stored fire trucks in his own building. As a teenager, Swadley went on calls with his father, then cleaned the fire trucks and reloaded the hoses after each call. It was that foundation that led J.C. to be the first paid Grand Prairie fireman and the city’s first Fire Chief.
Born in 1913, Swadley’s first job was as a distributor for White Rose Brewery in Dallas. Then, like millions of others, Swadley’s life changed on December 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked and World War II began. Five days later he married Grace Small and served as a crash fire truck operator at North American Aviation and Hensley Field.
After the war in 1945, Swadley became the first paid fireman in Grand Prairie. Living in a small apartment above the volunteer fire station, Swadley was on call 24 hours a day. By 1949, Grand Prairie built this station – Fire Station #1 – and had four professional firefighters. In 1950, Swadley was named the city’s first Fire Chief and by 1952 was able to move into his own home.
As Fire Chief he oversaw the building of Fire station #2 in 1953 and #3 in 1958. In 1960 Swadley retired and took a position as Fire Chief at the newly-opened Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington.
Among his professional accomplishments were serving 30 years as an instructor at the Texas Fireman’s Training School at Texas A&M University. There, he taught municipal fire fighters from across the state. In 1953, he was President of the State Fireman’s and Fire Marshal’s Association. Swadley was also a member of the Rotary Club, a member of the Grand Prairie Historical Commission, and a member of the First United Methodist Church of Grand Prairie.
“Fire fighting is a great career,” said Swadley. “It brings honor to yourself and your community.” [end]
From the City's website: (
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"The Grand Prairie Fire Department has been in existence for 92 years. Beginning in 1917 as a volunteer organization and progressing to 1945 when the first paid firefighter became employed by the city of Grand Prairie, our agency has grown to the current staffing level of 200 paid members and seven volunteers.
Since the completion of the first permanent fire station in 1949 located at 321 West Main Street, our city has erected a total of nine fire stations. These stations are currently staffed 24 hours a day with 61 personnel on-duty who respond to emergencies from three double-company stations and six single company stations. A total of nine engines, three aerial trucks, one command vehicle, and one air supply vehicle are available for response from these nine stations.
The Fire Department also has a total of eight ambulances - five full time and three reserved - all available for emergency response, all ambulances are staffed by certified paramedics."