Blog | Firehouse Talk

Behind the Flames Blog

Take a deeper dive into the stories featured on Firehouse Talks. Our blog expands on the podcast, offering richer details, untold perspectives, and valuable insights into the history, heroics, and challenges of the fire service community.

Chief Mark Berry

The year is 1978. A young kid from the projects rides his bicycle for miles. Parched, he stops at a fire station in search of a drink of water and his life is forever changed. Mark Berry is now a battalion chief with the Dallas Fire Department and our story starts with a fatal house fire he responded to just hours before our interview. Other topics covered: Mark's backstory, including growing up in the projects, being mentored by firefighters, playing college football at

Jul 172 min read

Part 2 of The Boys From Local 58

This is part 2 of a kitchen table discussion about Dallas Fire Department history, riding on open cab trucks, the 1936 Texas Centennial...

May 62 min read

The Boys From Local 58 - Part 1

A conversation with Captain Reuben Millsaps, Captain Don Howard and Lieutenant Mike McLemore. Some of the things we talk about are...

Apr 261 min read

The Man Who Wouldn't Quit

Chief Mike Jones (right) at the Hart Furniture fire; 1989 Mike Jones joined the Dallas Fire Department at the age of 18 in 1961. He...

Nov 16, 20241 min read

Old Tige Update

The pride of the Dallas Firefighters Museum is our Ahrens steamer, known affectionately as Old Tige. Old Tige is undergoing a major...

Nov 15, 20241 min read

The Photo Gallery: What it is and how to use it

When you click on the link to the photo gallery, which is in the Links section, but also here: Photo Gallery it takes you out of the...

Nov 14, 20242 min read

Twin Coves Fire and LODD - Part 2

This is part two of a two-part series on the house fire that took the lives of two Dallas Fire Department firefighters in 1981. The podcast was published in January of 2022 and can be listened to on the player below, or in the podcast app of your choice: A 1981 Incident Report and a 1982 Memorandum are available below: Below are photos of Charlie Rogers, Ed Metters and the fire scene on Twin Coves:

Jan 22, 20221 min read

Twin Coves Fire Part 1

This podcast episode is part one of a two part series which tells the story of a house fire that took the lives of two Dallas firefighters in 1981. It was published August 18, 2021. You can listen using the player below, or on your favorite podcasting app. Photos are posted in Part 2.

Aug 18, 20211 min read