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A federal court issued
a consent decree in 1990 that provided a new, temporary
promotional system for the ranks of chauffeur and junior
captains. The new promotional system lengthened the
eligibility period from one year to two years, and test
results for the two ranks were analyzed by computer and, in
many cases, revised the test scores before the final
eligibility list was published. The consent decree was based
on a class-action lawsuit in 1988 filed by black and
Hispanic firefighters.
On May 25, 1991, the
department added a fourth shift which created hundreds of
new promotions. Under the new work schedule, firefighters
had to work one of their off-days about every six weeks to
keep the average work week at 46.7 hour hours.
In December, the mayor
was defeated, and Chief Clayton's tenure came to an end.
Fire Marshal Eddie Corral was named fire chief in 1992 by
the new mayor. Corral became the first Hispanic fire chief
in the city's history.
Training of new
recruits returned to the Fire Training Academy. Recruit
training had been switched to a community college by the
previous administration because of cuts in the fire
department budget. During Chief Corral's administration, 80
female firefighters were hired. Only three women were in the
department when his tenure began.
A block-long warehouse
at Dallas and Live Oak was destroyed by fire on July 8,
1992. The fire, which went to six alarms, was one of 24
major fires that hit District 8 during June and
July.
Response to reported
fire in high-rise buildings was increased in February, 1993.
An extra engine, ladder, and chief were added. This made the
first alarm assignment for high-rise buildings to be five
engines, three ladder trucks, and two district
chiefs.
On April 29, 1993,
fire gutted several offices on the eighth floor of the
Coastal Tower office building at 9 Greenway Plaza. A
security guard died in the fire which went to four alarms.
His body was found in the elevator lobby on the fire floor.
By July, arson investigators had a suspect who failed two
polygraph examinations.
Fire destroyed a
400,000 square-foot warehouse at 600 Lockwood on November 8,
1993. Approximately one-third of the on-duty shift was at
the scene after five alarms and four taps were sounded. The
warehouse was near the Ship Channel, and the fireboats were
used to supply the heavy streams of land companies. No
firefighters were injured during the three-hour blaze, and
all 40 employees were evacuated safely.
Firefighters were kept
busy for two days rescuing people trapped by flooding from
record-rainfall during Tropical Storm Allison beginning on
October 17, 1994. All ten of the department's airboats were
used to rescue hundreds of Houstonians. Some 2,000 calls
were recorded over the two days, mostly from residents
trapped from rising water in their homes.
Two days later on
October 20, an enormous explosion rock the east end of
Houston when leaking gasoline ignited on the San Jacinto
River. The gasoline came from a break in a pipeline lying on
the bed of the river. Fire engulfed a half-mile of the river
front and destroyed a barge and several homes, which were
inaccessible to fire apparatus because of flooding from the
tropical storm.
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