HOUSTON (AP) One Houston firefighter remained hospitalized in critical condition Saturday a day after a massive motel and restaurant fire killed four of his fellow firefighters.
A total of 14 were hospitalized Friday afternoon. Houston Fire Department spokesman Jay Evans said Saturday that other injured firefighters had been released over night but he did not have a precise count.
Among the four killed were veterans of the department and a newcomer just a month out of the academy.
The fire broke out at a restaurant connected to the Southwest Inn along a busy freeway and was the deadliest in the 118 year history of the department. Three firefighters died at the scene while the fourth died at a hospital according to the mayor's office and a medical examiner.
One of the dead is 29 year old Robert Garner. His father Jerry Veuleman told the Houston Chronicle (http //bit.ly/1aMsrEe ) that Garner was proud of his work and had set his sights on becoming a firefighter after leaving the military. He joined the department in 2010.
'Use your training. Don't be a hero. God will look after you ' Veuleman recalled telling him. God chose it was time to take Robert and the other firefighters. We are sorry but we are also blessed.
The others who died were 35 year old Capt. Matthew Renaud an 11 year veteran of the department 41 year old Robert Bebee who joined almost 12 years ago and 24 year old rookie firefighter Anne Sullivan. She had graduated from the training academy in April.
Fire officials said they took a high risk in aggressively fighting the fire because they believed people were inside the motel. When a portion of the building collapsed the firefighters were trapped.
In 1953 and 2000 two Houston firefighters were killed in a single fire. Three firefighters died in 1929 when a train slammed broadside into their engine.
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Information from Houston Chronicle http //www.houstonchronicle.com
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