A pair of incredible fires and the addition of a third shift for Houston firefighters marked the start of the 1960s. In May 1960, firefighters arrived at a spectacular fire in the old city hall building on Market Square - the site where two previous city halls had burned to the ground. Fire overtook the structure and the whole roof collapsed, shooting flames 100 feet in the air.

A second five-alarm fire on October 17, 1961 destroyed the huge Globe discount store on Houston's southeast side. It took firefighters four hours to extinguish the blaze, in which hundreds of rounds of ammunition stored in the building exploded. Two hundred shoppers and employees escaped safely, but property losses were estimated at $5 million.

In 1963, the Houston Fire Department established a third shift, reducing the firefighter's average work week to 56 hours. Members worked three day shifts (10 hours each) and three night shifts (14 hours each). Intermittent days off allowed them to rest and be prepared for the next challenge.