A fire chief talked with hundreds of Firehouse World attendees Tuesday afternoon to help prevent future tragedies.
“We lost four firefighters, but this was the last alarm for seven firefighters,” Houston Executive Assistant Chief Richard Mann said about the May 31, 2013 fire now known as “Houston’s Darkest Day.”
Killed were Capt./EMT Matthew Renaud, 35, Engineer/Operator/EMT Robert Bebee, 41, FF/EMT Robert Garner, 29, and Probationary Firefighter Anne Sullivan, 24. Houston has lost 70 firefighters since 1883.
The first firefighter to die during interior operations was Ruben Lopez in 1996. Since his death, the department has lost 17 members and most were during interior operations, including the deaths of two firefighters inside a McDonalds in 2000.
“These are numbers that I’m not proud of. I’m embarrassed and we’re working really hard to change that. That’s why I’m here today.”
And the department has made changes to reduce deaths.
Following the 1984 death of a Houston firefighter who fell from the back step of a fire truck, the department stopped allowing members to ride that position.
“We’ve had some good conversations,” Mann said about changes.