The Southwest Inn fire in Houston, Texas on May 31, 2013 was a fire in an Indian restaurant that spread to an adjoining hotel. The fire claimed the biggest casualty loss for the Houston Fire Department since its inception. Four firefighters were killed and 13 others were injured while fighting the five-alarm fire at the Southwest Inn located in Southwest Houston.
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Southwest Inn
The Southwest Inn was located in the Greater Sharpstown district of Southwest Houston, along a portion of U.S. Route 59 named the "Southwest Freeway". The hotel was previously called the Roadrunner Inn. It was owned by Criterium Systems, Incorporated, a company in California. An Indian resurant called "Bhojan" was attached to the hotel. The restaurant described itself as a Gujarati-style thali vegetarian restaurant. The hotel could hold up to 100 guests. Some people used the hotel as a rooming house and stayed there for months at a time.
Since 2009, according to fire inspection records, the hotel had received citations for issues in the overall fire alarm system; smoke detectors that were not working in several rooms; issues with fire suppression systems; expired permits; and obstructed exits. In 2011 HFD's database stated that the hotel was "in compliance" with regulations. In 2012 additional citations appeared on the HFD database. City of Houston inspectors had also cited the restaurant for violations. The restaurant's most recent citation was in March 2013, for failure to clean grease traps. In May 8, 2013, the final inspection of the hotel property had the result of "no action required".
Fire
The fire began on May 31, 2013 in the Bhojan Indian restaurant. It was reported at 12:09pm during the restaurant's lunch service. At the time of the fire, 45 guests were registered at the hotel. The front desk clerk and another hotel employee began knocking on doors and windows in the hotel, notifying customers that there was a fire and they needed to evacuate. Twenty HFD vehicles were at the scene with lights flashing. They included fire trucks and ambulances. According to HFD, the four fatalities occurred twelve minutes after the arrival of the first engine, when the roof collapsed.
The hotel's roof had collapsed in the course of the fire. The firefighters believed that people were trapped in the building, so they went inside to search for people needing rescue. Two of the deceased were from Station 51 and two were from Station 68. The fire also caused injuries to 14 additional firefighters. One was in a coma and another required amputation of his leg.
The four deceased firefighters were Robert Bebee, Robert Garner, Matthew Renaud, and Anne Sullivan.
Aftermath
The four bodies were taken via ambulances to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science. Once autopsies were completed, the bodies were then escorted to local funeral homes. The fire was under investigation by the HFD, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). A total of 50 investigators from city, state, and federal agencies are investigating.
The long term patrons at the Southwest Inn were displaced by the fire. The area Plainfield Inn donated rentals of twenty rooms for short-term recovery stays for displaced residents of the Southwest Inn.
The memorial services for the deceased were scheduled to be held at Reliant Stadium on Wednesday June 5, 2013.
In June 2015 the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released their final report and found 8 contributing factors to the deaths of the 4 firefighters including:
- Fire burning unreported for three hours
- Delayed notification to the fire department
- Building construction
- Wind impacted fire
- Scene size-up
- Personnel accountability
- Fire ground communications
- Lack of fire sprinkler system
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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