Firefighters at Dallas Fire-Rescue Station 6 now have new and comfortable furniture, thanks to concerned citizens and generous donors.
According to CBS 11 News, citizens became aware of the unsuitable condition of the furniture inside the fire station during a recent public event.
The furniture — old, uncomfortable, and torn, with some coming from state prisons — was donated to the fire station by people and organizations who wanted to get rid of it.
“People will generally bring in stuff that they’re getting rid of. Bad state of disrepair. It’s all lived a very full life,” Lt. Kyle Hinojosa of Dallas Fire-Rescue Station 6 told CBS 11 News in an interview.
Hinojosa supervises Station 6, where firefighters spend most of their time waiting for emergency calls. During those waiting periods, firefighters live among the worn-out furniture.
“This is our family away from home,” Hinojosa said. “Today, for instance, I’m working overtime. So this is 48 hours straight.”
Hinojosa said firefighters spend at least a third of their lives in their fire stations.
After becoming aware of the state of the furniture in the fire station, concerned citizens contacted Canales Furniture, an area furniture store, which donated brand new sofas, chairs, and reclining couches to the station on March 31.
The furniture store plans to donate more furniture to at least three other Dallas fire stations.
Hinojosa is hopeful that Canales Furniture’s gesture will spread the word to other Dallas residents.
“Spread the word,” Hinojosa said. “We’re just regular people that show up to work here every day and spend a bulk of our life here, and it’s nice being comfortable at home.