Firehouse State #18

Fire Station # 18 is located at 1908 Carleton Ave. in Fort Worth, TX 76107 and was one of five fire stations constructed during the big oil boom that had expanded the city of Fort Worth. Stations 14 through 21 were added during Chief Standifer Ferguson’s command which stemmed from December 1919 though July 1939. Number 18 was constructed approximately around 1921 or 1923. This station is known to have paranormal activity as reported by the crews that have worked there.

Captain Scott James is currently stationed at #18 and states that the current activity in the building is caused by a mischievous spirit which the firemen have dubbed Clawed. It is believe that Clawed was a fireman named Claude who retired from the station and later suffered a heart attack and passed away. Whether he passed on grounds or some other place is uncertain.

Some of the reported activity that the Captain and other firemen have reported is the door that leads to the garage area had blown open and a gust of wind came through the dining area into the kitchen. The Captain and two other firemen had witnessed this event and set out to find out the reason behind it. They walked into the garage fully expecting to find someone had left an outer door open and the wind blowing through but to their surprise the area was shut tight. There was no reason for the door to have opened or a wind to blow through. They assured us that the door is a heavy door and not easily bumped open. On another occasion one of the firemen that had been stationed at 18 for a while was teasing newer member about the station’s ghost. They were upstairs when this happened. The newer fireman was a little shaken up and refused to believe there was a ghost in the building when they heard the door open below them. The first fireman told the new guy, “Let’s go down and meet him.” He had assumed that the door had been open by someone coming into the building but when they went down stairs to see who it was they couldn’t find anyone. Again the bay door and any other outer doors were closed so that the door couldn’t have been blown open.

One fireman has reported there have been incidents when he is upstairs where the sleeping quarters are when the toilet seat in the bathroom will slam down on its own. Another fireman that used to be stationed at 18 also related that there are times when no one has been in the bathroom or showers in the morning and he had been the first person out of bed. When he walked into the bathroom, however, the odor of someone just having showered and shaved was strong.

Another account happened prior to remodeling of the fire station when there was a couch where the current stairs are. A fire man was sitting on the couch and heard a noise in the kitchen. He looked in the kitchen and spotted a man wearing an old fashioned uniform who was standing in the kitchen that just disappeared. The ghost has also made the crew miss a call as one night they went to get on the truck and found that somehow all the hoses had been pulled from the truck. Due to the length of time it takes to reload the hoses the station had to give the call to another crew.

Another fireman had complained to the Captain that someone had been messing with the thermostat during the night. However the fireman realized he was sleeping next to the thermostat and no one had been near his bed.

The captain and other firefighters have said that they’ve heard noises during the night from the kitchen and dining area that sound either like a group playing dominos or someone in the kitchen cooking and banging pots and pans around.

On another occasion one of the firemen was waiting for someone to arrive at the station and so he stood in the doorway to the computer room where the blinds were parted so he could see out. He turned from the room for a moment then turned back and the blinds had been closed. Another incident that happened within the computer room was that one night the captain had seen someone sitting in front of a computer with the lights off. He thought it was one of the firemen working over time and asked others why the fireman was still there only to find out he wasn’t there and no one had been in the computer room.

The firemen are a friendly group of men and women and welcome us into the fire station to do a paranormal investigation. We look forward to working with them.