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A fire captain was
killed in a fire when the roof of an abandoned building
collapsed on February 19, 2005. He was the fifth firefighter
killed in the past five years, ranking second only to New
York City in line of duty deaths. The latest death renewed
the question of whether Houston Fire Department should
abandon its aggressive interior attack.
Firefighters voted 2-1
against a proposed collective bargaining contract on June 4,
2005. The union and city had been working on the contract
for nine months. The firefighters, who had not seen a raise
for six years, rejected the proposed hour increase despite
the offer of 12 percent raise in the first year.
Hurricane Katrina put
a load on the Houston Fire Department. Firefighters were
pressed into service in early September, 2005, to triage the
refugees that poured into Houston to escape flooded New
Orleans. The firefighters worked 24/7 at three refugee
sites, the Astrodome, Astro Arena and the Brown Convention
Center. Some 40,000 refugees settled in before the later bus
loads of refugees were directed to other cities in
Texas.
Deliberating only 15
minutes, a Harris County jury sentence James Alfonso Guevara
on Sept. 9 to life in prison for setting a fire that killed
a Houston firefighter and injured two captains. The
firefighter was Kevin Kulow who was on search and rescue
when the roof collapsed at the El Festival Ballroom (April
4, 2004). The captains were Jim Walterbach and Robert Smith.
One of the accomplice had been sentence to life in prison
and two other accomplices are still awaiting
trial.
City Council approved
a 3-year contract on October 13 after a collective
bargaining agreement had been voted 3-1 by firefighters. The
approval gave the firefighters a 26 percent base-pay
increase over three years. The arsonist who set the fire
that killed Capt. Grady Burke on February 19, received a
sentence of 12 years in prison.
A fire occurred on the
morning of January 27, 2006 at the Alta Academy Charter
School located at 8329 Lawndale. The fire totally destroyed
one of the buildings and caused moderate damage to a second
building. Three men were later charged and admitted their
involvement to investigators. They face a prison sentence of
5 to 99 years and a fine of up to $10,000.00.
 On March 28, 2007, three
occupants were killed in a windswept fire that
raced through a 6-story office building at 9343
East Loop near North Loop.. The blaze so badly
damaged the upper floors that recovery efforts were
suspended over concerns of the structural integrity
of the 60,000 square-foot building.
Many windows were broken with office
furniture to let in air for the trapped occupants. Several
were rescued down aerial ladders by the firefighters. Capt.
Joel "Eric" Abbt issued a distress call when he became
trapped inside a fifth floor stairwell. He was out of air,
and his labored gasps for air could be heard on the radio.
Two rapid-intervention teams were quickly dispatched and
were able to reach and rescue him. About 120 firefighters on
16 engines and eight ladder trucks, fought the 4-alarm fire.
Firefighters were still pouring water into the building at
11 p.m. An employee for a company on the fifth floor finally
confessed to starting the fire.
A speeding tank truck
overturned and exploded on April 27, 2007, on a ground-level
ramp that goes from Eastex Fwy to East Fwy. The driver, Luis
Perez, died in the flames that reduced the tank truck to
rubble. The site
was inside Loop 10 and the driver could have been driving
illegally, unless he were making deliveries of the fuel.
Cargo consisted of both diesel fuel and gasoline. Inspectors
said four box beams on the ramp above were damaged enough to
need replacement and will take two months to
repair.
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