There’s no word if the truck was en route to a fire call.

Crews believe a generator in the garage was leaking fuel, which was ignited by the hot water heater. No one got hurt.

Investigators say Debbie Coyl’e-Larner saw what happened and jumped into the water to try to help. She noticed Thomas’ head was submerged, and managed to adjust her seat to raise her head above water.

Brad Murff and another man also jumped into the ditch to try to turn the vehicle back over, but were unable to. That’s when the good Samaritans turned their focus to Thomas and were able to free her from the car.

“There was no way I would have been saved if it weren’t for Debbie and the others,” said Thomas. “I want to thank them.”

Sugar Land Mayor James Thompson, Fire Chief Juan Adame and several Sugar Land firefighters recognized Coyl’e-Larner and Murff during council meeting last week.

LeBlanc proposed council members authorize a “serious reduction” in police and fire departments ranks to trim a budget shortfall. He has yet to say how many positions should be cut. He will present a budget to council members Aug. 12 that shows cuts in two departments, which employ 170 police officer positions and 127 firefighter jobs, though some of those positions are empty.

He has declined to comment about staffing or collective bargaining except in public meetings, citing an agreement with the police and fire unions, city spokeswoman Alicia Cahill said.

Fire Officials Question LeBlanc
Interim Fire Chief Jeff Smith has declined to comment about the proposed cuts.
However, former Chief Mike Varela, who retired in mid-July, and Charlie Olsen, the chief negotiator for the fire union, said the fire department can’t afford to lose any firefighters without compromising service.

They said LeBlanc’s numbers are misleading: Though 127 people work for the department, 118 actually fight fires.

The rest are administrators or fire marshals, Olsen and Varela said.

At 118, the city has barely enough firefighters to meet contractual requirements, considering there are always firefighters on vacation, out sick, on training or otherwise off with pay, Varela and Olsen said.

“We feel we’re at a minimum now,” Olsen said. “We’re about as lean and efficient as you can get.”

Negotiating Staffing Levels
The police union can’t negotiate staffing levels, but the fire union can. Three clauses in firefighter contracts affect staffing levels, and LeBlanc agreed to all three during negotiations in prior years, Varela and Olsen said.

One clause mandates four firefighters be on a truck on all calls. Another mandates a minimum of 30 firefighters for each shift, and the third gives firefighters “Kelly Days,” time off with pay in addition to vacation and sick time.

Those “Kelly Days” equal the pay for nine firefighters each year, LeBlanc has said.
Varela said the “Kelly Days” were put in place to reduce firefighter overtime. He said he doubted the union would agree to cut those days because LeBlanc might try to use those cuts to reduce the department by nine firefighters.

The minimum manning clause and the clause mandating four men be on a truck on all calls were put in place to protect the safety of firefighters, Varela said.

The Texas Commission on Fire Protection recommends four firefighters on a truck to ensure their safety, Varela said. The best way to ensure that mandate was adhered to was to require minimum manned shifts of 30 firefighters, he said.

The Population Question
Varela also challenged LeBlanc’s assessments that the Galveston Fire Department seems to be overstaffed compared to similarly sized cities. LeBlanc has said that Galveston, with an estimated population of 48,000, has 2.65 firefighters for every 1,000 people, or more than two times as many as the average city.

Despite population declines in the past 10 years, the numbers of firefighters have increased from 100 in 2000.

Varela said it was unfair to compare based on population. Galveston’s firefighting needs are greater because of the island’s long and narrow shape, its densely packed historic buildings that fail to meet current fire codes, the more than 50 high-rise buildings, the presence of risky industries such as the Galveston National Laboratory and the port and the hundreds of fire hydrants that are not working, or working improperly, post-Ike.

He pointed to a 2007 study conducted by a consultant hired to advise the city on how to improve its insurance rating. That study recommended the city bolster its fire department and immediately add two fire stations or 30 firefighters.

The city never did so, and now, the tips of the island are especially vulnerable to delays in response times, Varela said.

He also said he didn’t believe LeBlanc’s assessment that there are 600 fewer structures after Hurricane Ike and that calls for service are down 20 percent.

Though Varela said in early July that LeBlanc’s proposed cuts did not prompt him to retire, he now says that his opposition to LeBlanc’s suggestions that he trim the department by $1 million, or about 13 firefighter positions, prompted him to leave “on a good note.”

“I was opposed to laying off any firefighters,” he said. “I would have had a hard time sleeping at night knowing I jeopardized the safety of the citizens and firefighters.”

The population drop after the storm left the city with the highest police to population ratio in Texas, City Manager Steve LeBlanc says. He’s using that data to support slashing public safety jobs during upcoming union contract negotiations.

Police and firefighter unions say LeBlanc is basing his arguments on misleading figures. They say Galveston differs from cities of a similar size because of its unique geography and tourism, which can boost its population by tens of thousands on any given day and to as much as 200,000 during a special event. Firefighters worry that LeBlanc will try to reduce the four-member truck crews, the crew size recognized nationally as the standard for protecting lives and property.

LeBlanc told council members that he will present a budget before concluding union contract negotiations. “We’re talking about a serious reduction in police and fire,” he said.

Sales tax receipts down
Mayor Joe Jaworski said, “We instructed Mr. LeBlanc to give us his professional administrative opinion, not what he believes will be politically palatable.”

Sales tax collections are down 20 percent this year, and property tax collections are expected to be dismal. The city hobbled through 2009, the first year after the storm, by shoring up a projected $3 million shortfall in its $97 million budget and avoiding layoffs through attrition.

City spokeswoman Alicia Cahill said LeBlanc declined to be interviewed about his proposal for reducing public safety staff, citing a “gentleman’s agreement” not to speak with the media during contract negotiations.

Galveston Municipal Police Association President Jimmy De Los Santos said the agreement applied only to the negotiations, which begin Monday for police and Friday for firefighters.

Mark Mahady, president of Galveston Local 571 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said the unions had a right to rebut detailed information LeBlanc gave in recent media interviews.

The Sept. 13, 2008, storm reduced the city’s population from about 57,000 to an estimated 48,000, LeBlanc told the City Council last week.

LeBlanc told council members that his review of 12 other cities showed an average of 1.29 police officers per thousand residents. Galveston’s ratio before the storm was 2.98 per thousand. After the storm, the ratio rose to 3.5 per thousand. “That’s the highest in the state of Texas right now,” he told the council.
Read entire article here.

The storm, which was along the Montgomery-Harris County line, was responsible for about 600 lightning strikes over the course of an hour, according to a National Weather Service Meteorologist.

“That’s a pretty significant amount of lightning,” he said. “About one strike every six seconds.”

Lightning struck the Thomas home on Elk Crossing in the Village of Indian Springs shortly before 6 p.m., either hitting the eave or the chimney, according to Magnolia Fire Department Capt. Jim Hanson.

Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office Arson Investigator Jeff Williams said the strike blew the electrical paneling off the lighting box.

“It was like a ball of fire just lit up; a bright light came on,” neighbor Diana Sikes said. “Thank goodness nobody was hurt.”

The lightning struck near Emma’s upstairs bedroom, starting a fire in the chimney and damaging the roof.

“We heard it hit, and I wondered where the transformer was,” Thomas said. “I got Emma out (of the house) because I smelled smoke.”

The strike also broke gas and water lines, with most of the home’s damage coming from water on the first floor.

“There was gas leaking and water leaking, so the main thing was to shut them off,” Hanson said.

The Magnolia firefighters had moved from their Station 186 at FM 2978 and FM 1488 to The Woodlands Fire Station 4 on Bay Branch near St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church as part of their mutual-aid agreement because several units from The Woodlands were answering another major house fire call due to the storm. They were at the Thomas home within five minutes of the call and were assisted by units from The Woodlands, Needham and South Montgomery County fire departments.

“They were here really quickly. We were lucky,” said Thomas, who plans something extra special for the firefighters this Thanksgiving. “It’s amazing it didn’t do more damage.”

However, the afternoon storms and severe lightning that tore across the region wreaked havoc elsewhere as well.
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Six units from The Woodlands Fire Department and one unit from the Spring Fire Department responded to a fire caused by a lightning strike on Bauer Point in the Village of Creekside Park in Harris County around 4 p.m.

The NWS meteorologist said the storm brought “significant lightning.”

Lightning strikes are measured as either positive or negative, he said. And of the several hundred lightning strikes produced in the area, the lightning from the storm that struck the home on Bauer Point had about 20 positive strikes in an hour.

Those types of strikes have much more energy and tend to be what the NWS meteorologist described as “fire starters.”

The fire on Bauer Point did extensive damage to the home’s roof and second story, TWFD Capt. Robert Moore said. No one was injured.
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Firefighters with The Woodlands Fire Department responded to three residential fire calls, all from lightning, during the storm Monday afternoon, Moore said.

Back in Thomas’ neighborhood, lightning also struck on White Fawn, one street over from Elk Crossing, hitting a gas meter next to a home and blowing off the regulator cap, emitting natural gas. Crews from CenterPoint Energy answered the call to ensure any leaking gas was shut off and repaired.

Even though Sikes’ house wasn’t hit, the lightning that struck the Thomas home down the street caused a reaction, knocking a cordless phone out of her hand.

“Fire came out and it blew out of my hand,” said Sikes, who also said the surge may have blown out two of her TV sets.

County residents may be in for more severe weather today with a strong chance of showers and thunderstorms.

“I lost my three dogs,” said the homeowner, who didn’t want her name used.

The Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the fire on White Rock Road that claimed the lives of the homeowner’s three small dogs Tuesday afternoon.

Arson investigator Jeff Fox said a neighbor who routinely comes by to take care of the dogs during the day noticed smoke and thought it was steam rising off the house from a storm earlier in the day. As the neighbor investigated, smoke began billowing out of the chimney. The neighbor attempted to open the door to rescue the dogs, but the smoke was too strong, Fox said.

The call was made to 9-1-1 about 4 p.m., Caney Creek Assistant Fire Chief James Galindo said. The Caney Creek, New Caney, Cut and Shoot and Grangerland fire departments responded to the fire, and Galindo said it took firefighters 30-40 minutes to locate the fire.

While firefighters were able to quickly put out the fire once they were located it, the home received fire damage to the kitchen and attic, as well as water damage to other rooms.

Pets react similarly to children in most house fires, Fox said.

“(Smoke inhalation) with a dog is the same as an individual,” he said. “They’ll find a safe, secure spot like a child would in a house fire.

“They (the dogs) were contained to the kitchen or the living room, and they were exposed to super-intense smoke and heat.”

No one was inside the home at the time of the fire, and the homeowner said she was at work. She has no idea what could have started the fire, she said.

“I’m just glad the fire department got out here and put it out,” she said.

Neighbors thought lightning might have caused the fire, but Fox didn’t seem to believe that was the case.

“The cause is still under investigation right now, but I do know it was isolated to the kitchen,” Fox said. “At this time I don’t see anything to indicate a lightning strike.”
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The Fire Marshal’s Office also is investigating a fire on FM 2978, just south of FM 1488, at an abandoned lumber sawmill. No one was injured in the fire, Magnolia Fire Department District Chief Keith Soliz said.

Neighbors in a subdivision behind the abandoned building heard an explosion, saw the flames and made the 9-1-1 call at 5:42 p.m., Soliz said.

The Magnolia Fire Department arrived on scene two or three minutes later, knocking down the fire quickly, but taking more than an hour to check all the “hot spots,” Soliz said.

He said the tin structure was empty and only about 1,500 square feet in size, and the fire did not damage a nearby abandoned building.

They became trapped about 4:30 a.m. when the tide, running high at full moon, rose rapidly and began racing between their outcrop and the jetty.

Galveston lifeguard Diane Lewis, former lifeguard and Galveston Police Department officer Sean Migues and lifeguard Capt. Tony Pryor brought them ashore with the aid of a group of Galveston firefighters.

The party consisted of Mark Barboza Sr. and Mark Barboza Jr., of Houston; Jessica Richards, of Jersey Village, and two teens from Houston.

An EMS crew determined that only one had suffered minor leg abrasions and released all five without taking them to the hospital.

Firefighters had to break through a padlocked gate and had to use 2,000 feet of hose when on-site hydrants would not work. They also had to fight off a swarm of bees.

The fire was reported at the Marina Landing apartments, 7302 Heards Lane, at 5:45 a.m. after a line of storms crossed the island. The complex, abandoned since Hurricane Ike hit in September 2008, was fenced and the gates were chained shut, Interim Fire Chief Jeff Smith Smith said. Firefighters had to cut through the fence to get to the fire at the rear of the complex.

When firefighters hooked up their hoses, they found the fire hydrants were dry.

Smith said the complex had private hydrants. When the city cut off water to the apartments, that also meant no water was available to the hydrants. Smith said crews ran a hose to a hydrant about 800 feet away, but it had been hit by a car last week and was not working.

Firefighters eventually found two working hydrants about 1,000 feet away from the scene, Smith said. He said people from nearby homes helped firefighters run hoses to those hydrants.

Crews then had to battle bees.

“Bees had totally inhabited the walls of the building,” Smith said. “The smoke drove the bees out, and there was a huge swarm of bees when the firefighters arrived.”

The fire was knocked down in about 45 minutes, Smith said. Eight of the building’s nine units were destroyed.

One firefighter was treated at the scene for heat exhaustion, Smith said.

Smith said neighbors told firefighters that just before the fire broke out they heard a clap of thunder. The fire marshal confirmed it was a lightning strike, Smith said.

City spokeswoman Alicia Cahill said water department employees went to the complex to turn the water back on but cut service to buildings that were leaking. Cahill said the point was to recharge the hydrants, just in case there were other fires.

“We would hate to see this situation repeat itself,” she said.

Other lightning strikes were reported:

• Late Sunday night, lightning struck a palm tree near 13th Street and 24th Avenue in Texas City, leaving behind a scorched tree trunk, the city’s homeland security director, Bruce Clawson, said. A tree in the 900 block of 24th Avenue also was struck by lightning, city officials said.

• Lightning also was suspected to have started a small attic blaze at a house in the 12900 block of Concho on the island’s West End at 1:30 p.m. Damage from that blaze was minimal and doused quickly, Smith said.

• At 3 p.m., lightning struck a house in the 7000 block of Avenue R in Santa Fe. It did not cause a fire but did knock off some bricks from the chimney, fire officials said.

A Galveston County Sheriff’s Office deputy reported a near miss with a lightning bolt as he patrolled the San Leon-Bacliff area. He reported to dispatchers that lightning struck the road immediately in front of his patrol car about 2 p.m.

Authorities say they were inside fighting the fire when it became too intense and they had to pull out.

“We had to add two other trucks, eventually two other pumpers. So we had a total about eight or nine apparatuses here, about 35-40 firefighters,” said Dist. Chief Doug Wilson of the Klein Fire Department.

Two firefighters were treated at the scene for heat exhaustion.