Equipment issues continue to plague HFD

HOUSTON – Thick black smoke, like what you would see at a big fire, poured out of the exhaust of Houston Fire Department Ladder Truck 4 on Tuesday.

Firefighters told KPRC 2 that it was not a new problem.

On Wednesday afternoon, the truck sat in its bay at Fire Station 4 in northwest Houston. Firefighters told KPRC 2 that they would write up the problem again.

"This is nothing new. Ever since I came into office I've said that we've been short on resources. I agree with everything that Chief (Samuel) Pena had to say yesterday,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

He said it is no secret that Houston has an aging fleet. He said he supports the fire chief’s request for nearly $11 million a year to buy new fire engines, ladder trucks and 16 new ambulances.

The mayor said the equipment challenges do not mean there are delays in response times.

"We will respond. Just as we had Harvey. And we responded. We utilized not only our assets but we got additional assets coming from other places as well. We will continue to function. It's not to say that we are not operational today. Because we are. You call EMS, EMS will show up today. If there is a fire, we will respond today," Turner said.

The mayor said part of the money could come from the public improvement bonds on the November ballot.

He said the bonds could help bring needed money to police, fire and solid waste.

"There's no quicker thing you can do other than vote for the public improvement bonds. That's for our assets. That will provide an additional $10 million a year for the next five years," Turner said.

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