Residents Lash Out At Houston Fire Department - Firehouse.com News

Residents Lash Out At Houston Fire Department - Firehouse.com News:

Community leaders said Tuesday they will seek an independent investigation of how firefighters responded to a southwest Houston apartment fire that killed three children.

Quanell X said apartment residents and the children's family repeatedly told firefighters the children were still inside, but twice came out of an apartment saying no one was there. On a third attempt, a witness said, firefighters found the children.

Nation of Islam Minister Robert Muhammad described the conduct of some firefighters at the scene as "cavalier," and that they were seen laughing.

"They would not have demonstrated the behavior that they did had this fire been in River Oaks. They would not have carried on the way they did laughing and joking," said Quanell X, who said he will submit a formal request for an independent investigation today.

This is interesting. Although I was not there, I would like to comment on this article. This is a case of the public not knowing exactly who we are, or what we do. They don't know the extent of our training, and the acceptance of our own limitations. They don't know that each time firefighters enter a structure, we know we may not come back out. They don't understand what we do once we are in a burning building. They don't understand how hard it is to work in these conditions.

I was not there at the fire in Houston, but I can assure the residents that the firefighters did everything humanly possible to save the children.

I understand it is hard to grasp the loss of these families, however the answer is not berading the firefighters who risked their lives for these children.

The article, the words of these citizens, and the misinterpretation of what was actually going on are unfortunate. These actions could possibly scar the Department and some of its members for some time.

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