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Cover Story - Spanish Version

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The Friendliest Firehouse

Chicago fireman Lieutenant Arthur Lewis studies the coloring books three girls have proudly placed before him. Whoops! A few crayon marks stray outside the lines, and a firehouse dog is colored purple. But it's a good effort, and Lewis rewards the girls with quarters. Now they can buy supper--a "poor man's" sandwich and fries--at Harold's Chicken Shack down the street.

Suddenly, a siren wails. The girls know the drill. They walk calmly out of the firehouse as Lewis and other firemen grab coats and helmets. One slides down the brass pole from upstairs, and the crew is out the door in a blink.

The firemen of Engine Company 16 battle blazes in one of the nation's poorest neighborhoods. But when they are off duty, they open their doors and hearts to local kids.

From Trouble Spot To Safe Haven
Ten years ago, Engine Company 16 was a hot spot for crime. Fire fighters often came back from an emergency to find smashed windows and missing equipment at the station house. Frustrated, the firemen just quit locking up. Soon, students from nearby Hartigan Elementary School began to drift through the open garage door. They used the bathroom, got their bikes fixed or just hung out.

There was one problem: the kids were visiting during school hours. Lewis came up with an idea. With extra cash from the firehouse pay phone, he bought a few small radios. Kids who showed improved school-attendance records would win a radio. Later, the firemen gave away bikes, which they built from donated parts, to the kids who stayed in school. Result? Last year Hartigan's attendance rate shot up to 94%, one of Chicago's highest.

The firemen realized they could do even more for the kids, many of whom have no father. Al Shaw, who drives the fire truck, now teaches chess at the kitchen table. Steve Ellison cuts kids' hair, and Andre Raiford helps with math homework. Other firemen collect winter clothes for the kids. Some have started baseball and basketball leagues. Many firemen are there even when they aren't working. Engine Company 16 has changed from a troubled firehouse to a safe home base for hundreds of kids.

Jeremy Woods, 9, drops by to play football and stand on the fire truck. "They tell me to stay away from drugs and to stay in school," he says. "It's my favorite place to come."

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