Houston Firefighters die in overnight house fire

Two Houston firefighters – one just out of the academy and an experienced veteran – were killed fighting a house fire in southeast Houston early this morning.

The fallen firefighters have been identified as Capt. James Harlow, 50, and Damien Hobbs, 29. Harlow was hired by HFD in August 1979 and has been a captain at Fire Sation 26 since 2004.

Hobbs was a probationary firefighter who graduated from the HFD Val Jahnke Training Facility in March. His first assignment at Fire Station 26 on March 7.

HFD was called to fight a one-alarm house fire on Oak Vista just after midnight, and initially fought the fire from inside the house, said District Chief Tommy Dowdy. The homeowners, an elderly couple, had made it out of their sprawling 4,100-square-foot house safety.

Neighbors said that it looked like the fire was dying down when flames suddenly burst through the roof, and the fire erupted sideways, stretching the length of the house.

As the fire intensified, firefighters were called outside, but two people did not answer for roll call.

As many as 100 firefighters arrived to help, working more than an hour before cooling the structure enough to go inside. The two bodies were found in the house between 1 a.m. and 1:30 a.m., witnesses said.

Rescue workers attempted CPR, but it was too late, neighbors said.

Mayor Bill White, who was at the scene of the fire shortly after 2 a.m., said there would be thorough investigations about what caused the fire, as well as what led to the two firefighters’ deaths.

“What happened in this case will be determined by an investigation, but people should remember that interior fire fighting is inherently risky, and there is no such thing as a routine fire,” he said shortly after attending Easter church services this morning.

He declined to speculate on what might have started the blaze or what happened in the inferno.

“It is tough,” he continued. “I have learned from our unfortunate experience that even in something called routine there is significant danger.”

White called on the Houston community to keep firefighters in their prayers not just in the wake of this latest tragedy, but regularly.

He described as “remarkable” how current and retired firefighters – and their families – rally for years around those who have lost family members in the line of duty.

“I wish Americans could see that so that we could treat all the families of our (military) veterans who have lost their lives in the same manner,” he said of facing danger for others. “They never forget and have ongoing, continual support,” he said. “Family after family has told me that it is like have a huge, extended family they never knew about.”

Story by Houston Chronicle