[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 4282-4283]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING IRON BILL DOWLING

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 15, 2017

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today, March 15, 2017 the last alarm 
will be sounded for one of Houston's finest, Captain William ``Iron 
Bill'' Dowling. Although Iron Bill fought tirelessly these last few 
years, he went home with the Good Lord shortly before his 44th 
birthday: March 14, 1973-March 7, 2017.
  While we mourn the loss of this Houstonian Hero, we also remember his 
service to his city and country. On May 31, 2013, Houston Fire 
Department suffered its most tragic event in its history. A 5-alarm 
blaze at a hotel in southwest Houston claimed the lives of four 
firefighters and injured fourteen other firefighters when the roof 
collapsed, some critically.
  The following lives were lost:
  Captain EMT Matthew Renaud, 35, of Station 51;
  Engineer Operator EMT Robert Bebee, 41, of Station 51;
  Firefighter EMT Robert Garner, 29, of Station 68;
  Probationary Firefighter Anne Sullivan, 24, of Station 68.
  They were the best we had in Houston, and we are still saddened that 
they are gone.

[[Page 4283]]

  One of the brave who survived was Captain Dowling.
  Iron Bill was injured serving Houston, the community in which he was 
raised. A graduate of Klein Oak High School, Captain Dowling left Texas 
to serve his nation as an enlistee with the United States Marine Corps. 
In 1993, on leave from Marine boot camp training, he married his high 
school sweetheart, Jacki. As a Marine, Iron Bill served 4 years, 
including a deployment to Somalia with I Marine Expeditionary Force in 
support of Operation Restore Hope, 1995. He returned home to Texas and 
to Jacki to begin his career and to start a family. Twenty-one years 
later, Captain Dowling and Jacki have three children: Forrest, Faith 
and Foster.
  Iron Bill's patriotic spirit and love of the community led him to 
join the Houston Fire Department. He graduated from the Houston Fire 
Department Academy in 2000 and steadily rose through the ranks. He 
worked at Stations 12, 19, and 48 before making Captain at Station 68 
in January of 2013. Firehouse 68 is located at the corner of Bissonnet 
and South Gessner in the heart of Southwest Houston. In 2013, the fire 
apparatus of Firehouse 68 made 14,847 responses, making it the third 
busiest fire station in the City of Houston. There, at Firehouse 68, 
Captain Dowling became known as Iron Bill, a fitting nickname to 
describe a strong and courageous hero.
  It was just five months after he arrived at Station 68 that Captain 
Dowling and fellow firefighters received an alarm call that would take 
them to the gates of hell.
  On that fateful day, in the heat of the Texas noonday sun, Captain 
Dowling along with the four other firefighters rushed into the hotel to 
find potential trapped guests. While the firefighters were in the 
hotel, the roof collapsed, trapping and killing Garner and Sullivan 
from Station 68 and Bebee and Renaud from Station 51. Captain Dowling's 
legs were crushed and burned, but he remained calm, radioed for help 
and waited for his brothers to pull him from the flames.
  The attending physician in the ambulance said that Captain Dowling, 
though severely injured, kept asking about the condition of his crew. 
He was more concerned for the safety of others than himself, the 
testament of a true hero. He told the doctor, on the way to the 
hospital, to tell his wife and children that he would fight for them. 
Hearing this comes as no surprise to Captain Dowling's family; they 
know him as a fighter.
  Captain Dowling was seriously injured with burns over thirty percent 
of his body, and he was placed in a medically induced coma for months 
at Memorial Hermann Hospital and Medical Center. He subsequently had 
both legs amputated and suffered brain damage. A long road of recovery 
was ahead for Captain Dowling, but surrounded by a team of doctors, his 
family, firefighter family, friends, church and the entire city and 
state of Texas, Iron Bill was not alone. Deservingly, Captain Dowling 
became everyone's hero.
  Since returning home, Jacki left her full time job at Frank 
Elementary to care for her husband full time. It's no surprise that as 
a Texas woman, she's strong and determined, but quite simply, the 
strength that she possesses is amazing. To keep the community updated 
on Iron Bill, she started blogging on a community Facebook page 
entitled ``Capt. William Dowling Iron Bill''. This blog allows the 
community to rally behind the Dowling family, cry with them, laugh with 
them, pray for them and see their hero survive.
  In August of 2016, the Dowling family moved to Durango, Colorado in 
order for Captain Dowling to make the most of his journey in the great 
outdoors. He became hooked on skiing through Adaptive Sports. Jacki 
said he was the healthiest he had been in a long time and was thriving 
in the mountain air so Jacki returned to coaching volleyball.
  On the morning of March 7, 2017 Jacki asked for prayers for Iron 
Bill, as she was worried about his recent spell with pneumonia. That 
evening Captain William Dowling took his final journey home into the 
arms of the Good Lord.
  Captain Dowling will be remembered for his bravery, determination, 
and loyalty. He always put others ahead of himself and was dedicated to 
serving his community. The legacy Iron Bill leaves behind is one that 
his friends, family, and community will never forget.
  Today, the entire city of Houston will pay tribute to the life of one 
of Houston's heroes, one of our finest.
  Houston firefighters are grateful for the support of 174 firefighters 
from 30 Texas departments that will ride in Houston stations tomorrow 
so A-shift firefighters can attend the memorial service for Iron Bill 
Dowling. Thanks to firefighters from College Station, Plano, Montgomery 
County, Conroe, Weatherford, Pearland, New Braunfels, South Montgomery 
County, Fort Worth, Sugar Land, China Grove, Kemah, West University, 
Longview, Nacogdoches, Bexar County ESD 2, Lewisville, Galveston, 
Lubbock, Baytown, Southlake, Benbrook, Seguin, Austin, Dallas, 
Westfield, Waco, Hutchins, Tomball, and The Woodlands.
  As the family of Iron Bill mourns the loss of a great man, I hope 
they know the community of Tomball, the greater Houston area and Texas' 
Second District will keep the family in their thoughts and prayers. Our 
community will always be grateful for his service and sacrifices. Once 
a hero, always a hero. That's the man we call Iron Bill.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________