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I heard someone whisper, ‘God bless Texas’

The news of Houston’s tragedy came during a memorial for fallen firefighters, and those gathered new the pain all too well

Editor’s note: Chief Adam K. Thiel pauses to offer his condolences to those who lost loved ones in Houston and reflect on other survivors.

Like probably all of our FireRescue1 readers, I was stunned, shocked, and deeply saddened by the tragedy befalling the Houston Fire Department last Friday.

I know you’ll join me in continuing to send our collective thoughts, prayers, and hopes to the families of our fallen brothers and sister, their HFD comrades, and those still fighting to recover from terrible injuries sustained during that massive blaze at the Southwest Inn.

Also like many of you, since we know it’s much too early to understand all the factors leading up to tragic outcome, I’ve been watching the ongoing news coverage and reviewing videos from the scene.

I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend several days riding along with Houston firefighters through the years and I can tell you, they are very good at what they do. They are also, unfortunately, no strangers to losing their own.

However, there’s no question that this event, the deadliest in the HFD’s proud 118-year history, will never be forgotten in Houston, and will be long-remembered by all of us who were part of the fire and emergency services community on May 31, 2013.

Ironically, when I received the news about HFD’s losses last Friday, I was attending a reception, honoring the families of fallen Virginia fire department members, at our governor’s residence in Richmond.

Word about the Houston fire quickly spread among the fire chiefs, officers, and firefighters who were present; then an announcement was made to the assembled families and friends.

I couldn’t help but notice how the families of our fallen Virginia heroes reacted to this tragic news from across the country. The room quickly fell quiet and became completely silent. There was no chit-chat, no cell phone ringers, and no conversations trailing off.

Those brave survivors — all of whom were still mourning a father, brother, son, nephew, or dear friend who perished in the line of duty — didn’t have to be told the significance of what they were hearing.

They just knew.

And as we completed a moment of silence to honor our comrades, and theirs, I heard someone whisper, “God bless Texas.”

Adam K. Thiel is the fire commissioner and director of the Office of Emergency Management in the city of Philadelphia. Thiel previously served as a fire chief in the National Capital Region and as a state fire director for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Thiel’s operational experience includes serving with distinction in four states as a chief officer, incident commander, company officer, hazardous materials team leader, paramedic, technical rescuer, structural/wildland firefighter and rescue diver. He also directly participated in response and recovery efforts for several major disasters, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Tropical Storm Gaston and Hurricane Isabel.

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