[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7902]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE SERVICE OF FOUR FALLEN HOUSTON FIREFIGHTERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise with a very sad duty and, as 
well, an appreciation to my colleagues from Texas who joined me 
yesterday with a 1-minute request of silence, commemoration of the four 
fallen firefighters in Houston, Texas.
  First responders belong to all of us, no matter where they live. When 
a devastating incident occurs that causes them to lose their lives, we 
all feel the pain and sadness for them and the families that mourn 
them.
  We in Texas recently lost a number of firefighters in West, Texas. 
Now, sadly, I come today to acknowledge the loss of four firefighters 
in the Houston Fire Department in the city of Houston: Matthew Renaud, 
Robert Bebee, Robert Garner, and Anne Sullivan. Unfortunately, these 
wonderful people lost their lives in a fire where they were fighting to 
save the lives of others.
  The mission of firefighters is constantly with courage and commitment 
and compassion, and today I recount the history of the Houston 
firefighters and fire department.
  March 14, 2012, was the last time the city of Houston lost a 
firefighter in the line of duty when Senior Captain Thomas Dillon died. 
1929 marked the last time more than two firefighters lost their lives 
in the line of duty, when Edgar Grant and Harry Oxford and John Little 
were killed when their engine was struck by a train.
  But on May 31, just a few days ago, 2013, a 5-alarm fire, just after 
noon, at the location of a motel and restaurant, is now the most deadly 
fire in the history of the 118 years of the Houston City Fire 
Department.
  Sadly, Captain EMT Matthew Renaud of Station 51, Engineer Operator 
EMT Robert Bebee of Station 51, Firefighter EMT Robert Garner of 
Station 68, and Probationary Firefighter Anne Sullivan of Station 68 
died in the line of duty.
  All we can see as we look to the heavens is that we hope that they 
will rest in peace. But they were our brothers and our sisters.
  Anne Sullivan of Station 68 was a gifted athlete who played soccer 
and was a cross-country runner, focused her life's ambition upon 
graduating from high school to become a firefighter and began her quest 
by joining the Wharton County Junior College Fire Academy. After 
graduation, she became a student at the Houston Fire Department 
Academy, while also previously doing work in another jurisdiction.
  Whereas, Firefighter EMT Robert Garner of Station 68 was proud to 
call himself a Houston firefighter who sought out this honor after 
leaving the United States Air Force, where he honorably served his 
country and completed two tours of duty in Iraq and his fire department 
career at the Val Jahnke Fire Academy.
  Captain Matthew Renaud, who served the Houston Fire Department for 
11\1/2\ years, joined the Houston Fire Department in October of 2001 
and was assigned to Station 51 upon graduation from the academy and 
awarded the Unit Meritorious Medal for saving a female who had been 
trapped in an apartment.
  And Engineer Operator EMT Robert Bebee of Station 51 graduated from 
Dobie High School in southwest Houston in 1990 and began his fire 
department career at the fire academy on August 6, 2001, but served the 
majority of his career at Station 51.
  Over the last couple of days, I've visited the command station, 
logistics, and the firemen's union, and then went to Fire Station 51.
  To Fire Stations 51 and 68, we offer our deepest sympathy in 
understanding that your brothers and sister have been lost. But today 
we also pay tribute, because the members of the Texas delegation will 
be introducing a resolution in honor of these heroes. And we're 
reminded of their words and the words in the Fireman's Creed, that 
their work is to save lives, the lives of men, the lives of women, but 
it is God's work.
  Those fallen heroes were engaged in God's work, for they were looking 
for lost souls that might have been in that building, that horrific, 
horrible fire that has seen thousands of Houstonians go by to pay 
tribute; and thousands more to go by and pay tribute at Fire Stations 
51 and 68 and also to acknowledge Local 341.
  Tomorrow, Houston will grieve together and, as well, I want them to 
know that the Members of the United States Congress grieve with them as 
we introduce this resolution.

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