Ceiling collapses on ambulance at Houston fire station

By Laura French

HOUSTON — The ceiling of a Houston fire station collapsed onto an ambulance on Saturday.

The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association shared a photograph on Facebook of the ambulance and station floor covered in debris, stating that firefighters are “grateful no one was injured” and blaming the incident on “a generation of neglect by city officials.”

https://www.facebook.com/IAFF341/posts/3282284418518057?__cft__[0]=AZWVPR8rKQyicKLrwapex7dvxd_WuoDE8unM15-13fODnrZwb4Z5nBrLdfWXzdNSzSP7AOOowmk1Xeb3uMyWJNHR75rw9pdbJqJmbTw2MmmZG7Sc9BOY7cj2luazOvpIcRRvQEQfMFMPlJJm17JILUJTGc6chundeZ8asFdEbBYXpQ&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

“There are challenges every day with the declining HFD fleet and facilities — mold and sewage in stations and parking lots, broken-down fire apparatus and ambulances throughout the city, and no A/C in fire stations and apparatus,” the post stated.

Houston’s mayor’s office said in a statement to FOX 26 that the city’s General Services Department responded immediately to repair the damage and that the mayor and city council have heavily invested in the facilities and other needs of the fire department.

Fire Chief Sam Peña said the damage to the ambulance is being assessed and that the collapse appears to be due to stucco on the ceiling that had loosened over time. Peña said the station had last been remodeled in the early 2000s.