Firefighters find fraternity at Marble Falls department
Marble Falls firefighter Tim Pierce (left) sits next to one of the newest firefighters at the department, Jacob Cuellar. Cuellar’s badge-pinning ceremony was in November 2023 after six months of service at the department. Staff photo by Nathan Bush
Now in its 21st year as a full-time, paid firefighting team, Marble Falls Fire Rescue is growing along with the community. A second fire station south of Lake Marble Falls near the U.S. 281-Texas 71 intersection goes into the design phase this year. Meanwhile, the current station at 700 Avenue N — home to 17 full-time and four part-time firefighters — is undergoing renovations, including an update to the living quarters.
Despite recent challenges, including a major business blaze downtown and back-to-back summers of drought-fueled wildfires, a culture of fellowship, support, service, and pranks permeates Marble Falls Fire Rescue.
“There’s the cliche that you enjoy getting up and going to work every morning,” Chief Tommy Crane said. “I love being able to get up and come to work here. I love to see these guys. They have the mentality that they’re here to help people, 100 percent. They’ll do anything in the world for anybody.”
The department has achieved persistent camaraderie by elevating employees to their fullest potential through training, mentorship, and just plain bonding, Assistant Chief Coy Guenter said.
“Our slogan is to be the premier small-town fire department in Texas,” he said. “Our biggest thing is we want to grow the young men and women working for Marble Falls Fire Rescue. We want to help people succeed.”
Capt. Jeff Beltran, a Marble Falls native who was named 2022 Firefighter of the Year by the Hill Country 100 Club, credits the department’s commitment to training as proof of its passion for its firefighters.
“There’s so much to know in firefighting,” he said. “Being able to lean on more experienced guys that can take you under their wing, guide you, and give you the tips and tricks they’ve learned over the years is invaluable. Of the different stations I’ve been at, Marble Falls is the best at providing that level of mentorship.”
It’s not all business. Pranking is central to the department’s day-to-day operations. Practical jokes disclosed to this reporter include filling work boots with water and putting them in the freezer, hard-boiling eggs and placing them back in the carton, and hiding alarm clocks in the ceiling tiles above sleeping quarters.
“We don’t do anything to hinder our ability to respond,” Guenter said. “It’s just a lot of all-around good fun and messing with people.”
These harmless pranks help firefighters overcome intrusive thoughts and lingering memories of traumatic situations they encounter on the job.
“We crack jokes because that’s just the way that we cope,” said Jordan Thomas, a driver/engineer for the station. (See That’s My Job for more about him.) “Joking and laughing is good medicine.”
Open and honest conversations after unsettling calls also help firefighters emerge from the fog created by disturbing scenes.
“We’re away from our wives and kids, and they always ask what the day was like,” Beltran said. “You always leave the details out of it (for your family), but your partner was right there with you the whole time in the thick of it. They saw exactly what you saw. It’s nice having the ability to go back and forth about what happened with someone who was there.”
Sharing meals is another way the first responders strengthen their bond with each other. Menus often consist of fine dining staples such as barbecue, Mississippi pot roast, and baked goods.
“There’s so many good cooks,” Guenter said. “Some guys are really great at baking, other guys can barbecue real well. Everybody has their specialty.”
The schedule contributes to a sense of fellowship among the ranks. Marble Falls firefighters work what is known as a 48-96 shift, meaning 48 straight hours on and then 96 hours off.
“We look at it this way: We live together a third of our lives,” Guenter said. “They’re like brothers and sisters. They live together, eat together, cook together. They lean on each other during tough times, just like you would with your mother, your father, your brother.”
The 21-year-old department is not slowing down.
“As the city grows, we have to follow along,” Beltran said. “We ran 2,100 calls (in 2023). Every year I’ve been here, our call volume has gone up. Our single station is running more calls than a station in Austin would be.”
The department is applying for a couple of Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency over the next two years. The first grant would pay for three additional firefighters. The second could fund nine more firefighters, which will be needed when the new station opens near the 281-71 intersection.
“We have nobody out there right now,” Crane said. “When we’re responding from (Avenue N) to somewhere way out on 71, the response time is a lot longer. When we get Station No. 2 running, the response times will be cut down tremendously.”
The expansion will establish northern and southern districts for fire response in Marble Falls. It will also create promotion opportunities for the department as it adds lieutenants to its ranks, a position currently nonexistent.
“We’re still working on exactly what it looks like, but we’ll have a mixture of experienced people who are already here go out there and lead along with some new hires,” Crane said. “We’re not going to put only new hires at Station No. 2. We’re going to spread them around the organization to make sure they learn our culture. It won’t be any different from Station No. 1 to Station No. 2. The culture will stay the same. The service will stay the same.”
Also, the current station is being upgraded. Work begins soon on $250,000 in renovations to its living quarters.“It’s going to be great,” Beltran said. “I graduated from Marble Falls High School when this place was put into service. I’m 43 now. It’s served its purpose, but it’s time for some renovations. We’re excited.”
Retaining the department’s sense of tradition and founding values will be critical as these changes are rolled out.
Crane has the utmost confidence his station’s camaraderie will prevail, regardless of what the team faces.
“My whole focus is to make sure these guys love to go to work in the morning and that they serve this community because they’re happy to be here,” he said. “That’s never going to change.”