HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) – A federal analysis of a May 2013 fire at the Southwest Inn that killed four Houston firefighters is in “alignment” with earlier local and state reports that cited communication failures and tactics used at the scene of the blaze, Houston Fire Department officials said Monday.
The recently released report, from the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, is intended “to educate not just the Houston Fire Department, but the entire American fire service,” HFD officials said in a statement.
The federal investigators noted several factors that contributed to the fire and subsequent loss of life. The fire smoldered for three hours before it was reported to the Houston Fire Department. The construction of the building, heavy winds, personnel accountability, communication problems and a lack of an adequate fire sprinkler system also played a part.
The Houston Professional Firefighters Association said concerns remain about the department’s equipment, policies, training and staffing issues more than two years after Capt. Matthew Renaud, 35, engineer operator Robert Bebee, 41, firefighter Robert Garner, 29, and firefighter Anne Sullivan, 24, were killed while battling the blaze inside a restaurant adjoining the hotel at 6855 Southwest Freeway.
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“The truth is, we still face staffing shortages, systemic radio failures and other technology problems, an aging fleet and facilities and inconsistent provisions of training,” the union said in a statement.
The federal report from the CDC-based agency follows two earlier ones looking into the fire – an internal HFD inquiry and one from the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office.
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The most recent investigation also noted issues with the “strategy and tactics” HFD used at the scene. A priority of any fire fighting plan, they said, is to quickly send crews to the back of the blaze – known as the Charlie Side – to make sure the commander has the complete picture of the scene.
But in the case of the Southwest Inn fire, the Charlie Side wasn’t manned until 20 minutes after units arrived. Unless there is a risk of human life, fire fighting operations should not begin until a report from the Charlie Side is received, the investigators noted.
“The department did not pre-plan this building based on the risk assessment,” the report stated.
The federal investigators also noted problems with the radio system.
The HFD dispatchers switched to a digital radio system about a month earlier. The Southwest Inn fire was the first major incident where the digital radio was used.
An earlier report from the State Fire Marshal’s Office also found problems with the city’s then-new $138 million digital radio system. State officials said it made communications “difficult if not impossible,” hampering the mission to rescue the trapped firefighters.
The CDC investigators noted HFD has been addressing some of the radio problems through changes in hardware, re-programming and re-training.
“This is an ongoing process for the department,” the report stated.
The investigators found that high winds that day played a major factor during the fire. It sent smoke billowing across the parking lot where many of the HFD crews were setting up, obscuring their view of the scene. But, they noted HFD has made “numerous changes” in the procedures and tactics need to battle wind-driven fires.
The union urged HFD to “immediately adopt” the 15 recommendations in the federal report.
“More must be done to better and proactively ensure firefighter and public safety,” the union said.
HFD officials said they reviewed the report last week with families of the fallen firefighters and those who were injured.
“We did so to fulfill our commitment to never forget and to keep the families as informed as possible,” Fire Chief Terry Garrison said in a statement.
