HOUSTON — The head of Houston’s Firefighters’ Union sounded the alarm Friday after two HFD paramedics became ill after breathing in carbon monoxide inside an ambulance.
Some firefighters say the incident should serve as a wake-up call about the aging fleet.
The two firefighters were released from Memorial Hermann Hospital Thursday night after a close call with a gas that’s colorless, odorless and sometimes deadly.
“When the rescuers and the men and women who put their lives on the line every day become the patients, that should be alarming to everybody,” said Marty Lancton, President of the Houston Professional Firefighters Association.
Lancton says as the two firefighters left HFD’s Dart Street lot near downtown in a reserve unit late Thursday afternoon and began driving, they smelled exhaust and started feeling nauseous.
He says when they pulled into Station 3 in River Oaks, they told their higher-ups.
“They utilized the carbon monoxide detector and noticed that there was an increase in carbon monoxide both right just outside the apparatus and also inside the cab and also where the patients would be if they were on call,” Lancton said.
It's another example, he says, of HFD’s aging fleet and frequent equipment issues.
“What I want to make sure the City of Houston does is put the health and safety and well-being of the men and women who put their lives on the line every day (as) the top priority for the city,” Lancton said.
The HPFFA president mentioned newer vehicles, more inspections, and additional carbon monoxide detectors in units as steps firefighters would like to see.
“Public safety’s number one,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said Tuesday while laying out his proposed Fiscal Year 2019 budget. “It will always be number one.”
Mayor Turner said the cap on property tax collections passed by voters in 2004 is limiting how much money the city has to work with.
“I want to be very very clear: we need additional revenue for public safety,” Turner said.
It’s a tough task, he said, with a budget that closes a $114 million gap but does not address at least $250 million in Harvey damage to city infrastructure and more than $600 million in deferred maintenance costs.
“We are patching things together,” he said.
Mary Benton, Mayor Turner’s press secretary, told KHOU the mayor was unavailable on Friday afternoon.
In an email, Benton wrote, in part, “(Mayor Turner) has been frank in public comments about the need for the city to have more revenue to address both personnel and equipment issues related to public safety. This is one example while the additional revenue is needed.”
Sheldra Brigham, an HFD spokesperson, told KHOU Friday afternoon the department was working on a statement in response to questions about the status of the vehicle involved in the incident and how many similar reports HFD has received.