HOUSTON – The Houston Fire Department's Chief says he will work to find more swift water training opportunities and will reevaluate how much swift water training firefighters receive, following the deaths of three citizens when a rescue boat that capsized during the Memorial Day weekend flooding.
Fire Chief Terry Garrison made the announcement in a message from the chief. It comes after a Channel 2 investigation showed a senior captain wrote that on May 26, rescue crews did not have enough training, rescue boats or life jackets.
The head of the firefighters union said rescue crews have not received training on how to operate boats in swift water in at least eight years.
"We are now in the process of identifying swift water training opportunities. Unfortunately the training we need is not available in this region of the country," Chief Terry Garrison said in the one-and-a-half page letter to firefighters sent Thursday afternoon. "Unfortunately, our training needs are greater than our training budget, so priorities must be established. Swift water incidents are high risk/low frequency events, resulting in moving swift water training down on our priority plan. But, I can assure you that as a result of the tragic loss of our citizens and the subsequent recovery process, we will reevaluate."
Houston Mayor Annise Parker said last week that she believed there was enough training and equipment for swift water rescues. She called the training swift water rescue crews receive "extensive."
Channel 2 Investigates reported fire department internal emails which appear to contradict that. The email showed firefighter supervisors telling rescue crew members that if they wanted swift water training they had to do it on their own time and pay for it themselves because there was no training money from the city.
The city is currently working on a report to identify what happened the day following the historic May flooding. Fire Department spokesman Capt. Ruy Lozano could not give a time frame for when the report will be completed.
"We want to find out what worked well and what didn't," the Chief wrote in the letter. He said his thoughts and prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones.
"The following day we initiated the Swift Water Recovery Process to determine exactly what occurred and to learn as much as possible about this rescue and other rescues which happened during the flooding event," the Chief also wrote in his letter. "Similar to the recovery process used for the (Southwest) Freeway Fire and our other fatal fires, we have an obligation to do whatever it takes to ensure this type of event does not occur."
Following news of the letter, first reported by Channel 2, President of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association Alvin White, Jr. issued this statement:
"Houston fire fighters continue to be concerned about fire department resources and training issues, but we welcome Chief Garrison's announcement that HFD-funded, swift-water training for fire department personnel is under review. Houston fire fighters performed extraordinarily well during the historic flooding, but we saw some of our worst fears realized during rescue operations. Today's announcement by the chief could be an important first step in resolving issues that have been the subject of discussions with the city for several years. We look forward to further addressing the HPFFA's public and workplace safety concerns with the Parker Administration. In the meantime, Houston fire fighters will continue to deliver excellent service, be good stewards of city resources, and give back in the community."
If you have a tip about this story or another story idea, email or text investigative reporter Jace Larson at jlarson@kprc.com or 832-493-3951.
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