City of Houston Fire Department (HFD) is the agency that provides fire protection and

emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...

for the city of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, 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 . The department is the largest

fire department A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

(by number of personnel) in the state of

. The administrative offices of HFD are located on the 7th floor of 1801 Smith Street (a part of the

Cullen Center Cullen Center is a skyscraper complex in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The complex is now managed by Brookfield Properties. Previously Trizec Properties owned all four office buildings. The complex includes the headquarters of the Houst ...

) in

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10, Interstate 45, and Interstate 69. The ...

. They were previously located at the City of Houston Fire Department Logistical Center & Maintenance Depot. The Houston Fire Department got its start in 1838 with one station known as ''Protection Company No. 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.

Notable Incidents

Southwest Inn Fire

On May 31, 2013, the ''Southwest Inn fire'' broke out in an Indian restaurant in

Southwest Houston Southwest Houston is a region in Houston, Texas, United States. The area is considered to be from Texas State Highway 6, south of Westpark Tollway to north of U.S. Route 90. Many Section 8 (housing) complexes are located 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. "It was the department's worst loss of life ever." "Iron" Bill Dowling, who lost his legs and damaged his brain in the fire, died in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

on March 7, 2017, after a short hospitalization for

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

and

cellulitis Cellulitis is usually a bacterial infection involving the inner layers of the skin. It specifically affects the dermis and subcutaneous fat. Signs and symptoms include an area of redness which increases in size over a few days. The borders of ...

, attributed to his injuries.

2016 Houston Fire

After the spreading of a backyard fire in Spring Branch,

, 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.

Stations and Apparatus

Below is a listing of all Houston Fire Department fire stations and their assigned apparatus. In 2018 there was a post-

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest ...

plan to replace fire station 104 for $11 million.

Gallery

File:Houston Fire Station Nr. 3.jpg, Houston Fire Station Nr. 3 from the 1800s. It's on the National Register of Historic Places File:Houston Fire Station No. 7.jpg, Houston Fire Station No. 7 was built in 1898. Today it's the Houston Fire Museum & on the National Register of Historic Places File:StationOne1932 (edit).jpg, Group photo of firefighters from Station 1–1932 File:600JeffersonHoustonTX.JPG, Continental Center II (1801 Smith) of the Cullen Center houses the HFD administrative offices Image:HoustonFireDepartmentTXHQ.JPG, City of Houston Fire Department Logistical Center & Maintenance Depot File:HoustonFireDepartmentMemorial.JPG, HFD Firefighters' Memorial in northern Houston Image:HoustonFireStation3RiverOaks.JPG, Fire Station 3 Image:HoustonFireDepartmentStation7.JPG, Fire Station 7 Image:FireStation8HoustonTX.JPG, Fire Station 8 Image:HoustonFDStation16Montrose.JPG, Fire Station 16 Image:HFD18.JPG, Fire Station 18 Image:FireStation25HoustonTX.JPG, Fire Station 25 Image:HFDFirestation28.JPG, Fire Station 28 at 3000 Chimney Rock Image:HoustonFireStation33.JPG, Fire Station 33 File:HoustonFireStation37.JPG, Braeswood Place

References

External links

Houston Fire Department

Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association

Houston Fire Fighters Calendar

Houston Fire Museum

Houston Fire Fire Fighter Memorial Web Site

Houston Fire Station Google Map

Houston Firefighters' Bagpipe & Drummer Corps

Houston Fire Station 68
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Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames ...

Fire departments in Texas