Houston Fire Department

4 min readMay 19, 2021

City of Houston Fire Department (HFD) is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Houston, Texas, United States, the fourth largest city in the United States. HFD is responsible for preserving life and property for a population of more than 2 million in an area totaling 654 square miles (1,690 km2).[3] The department is the largest fire department (by number of personnel) in the state of Texas.[4]

The administrative offices of HFD are located on the 7th floor of 1801 Smith Street (a part of the Cullen Center) in Downtown Houston.[5] They were previously located at the City of Houston Fire Department Logistical Center & Maintenance Depot.[6]

The Houston Fire Department got its start in 1838 with one station known as Protection Company №1.[1] By 1859, the volunteer department had grown to three stations. After 57 years of service, Houston converted the department over to all paid members.[1]

Notable Incidents[edit]

Southwest Inn Fire[edit]

Main article: Southwest Inn fire

On May 31, 2013, the Southwest Inn fire broke out in an Indian restaurant in Southwest Houston before spreading to an adjoining hotel. The fire claimed the biggest casualty loss for the Houston Fire Department since its inception. Four firefighters were killed and 13 others were injured while fighting the five-alarm fire at the Southwest Inn.[7] “Iron” Bill Dowling, who lost his legs and damaged his brain in the fire, died in Colorado on March 7, 2017, after a short hospitalization for pneumonia and cellulitis, attributed to his injuries.[8]

2016 Houston Fire[edit]

After the spreading of a backyard fire in Spring Branch, Houston, Texas, a packaging warehouse burned down during a four-alarm fire which included exploding canisters of hazardous material. Nearly 200 firefighters were dispatched to the site over several hours. As of May 2016, the initial cause of the fire remains unknown.[9][10]

21st Century Opioid Crisis[edit]

The US Opioid Crisis affected the Houston FD. In 2017, the department received 189 emergency calls for heroin/opioid overdose; by 2018, the calls grew to 602. There were 800 calls in 2019, 25% of them were fatal. The department’s emergency responders all carry Narcan (Nalaxone) nasal spray, after the city received a $2 million grant in 2019 to equip all the department’s vehicles with Narcan and train the department’s first responders in recognizing the symptoms of overdose and administering the spray. Additionally, Houston’s McGovern Medical School and the School of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Texas Health Science Center developed the Houston Emergency Opioid Engagement System (HEROES) to engage teams of first responders and coaches to contact opioid overdose victims who have been revived by Narcan and inform them of the social and health assistance available to them.

Houston Fire Department

Contents

Notable Incidents[edit]

Southwest Inn Fire[edit]

2016 Houston Fire[edit]

21st Century Opioid Crisis[edit]

Written by Vexare