Port Of Houston Fire Department News

More than 40 U.S. Coast Guard, State of Texas, maritime industry and local emergency responders attended the American Salvage Association’s (ASA) Marine Salvage and Emergency Response training course last month in the Houston-Galveston area presented by the ASA Training Committee. Designed to train students on how to coordinate proactive marine casualty response operations, this two-day program exposed students to a wide variety of course modules led by ASA members and industry experts in salvage law, naval architecture, commercial diving, environmental policy, and emergency response operations. “Since 2003, the ASA has presented a number of Marine Salvage courses every year to Federal…

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Tuesday for a man who went missing after his shrimp boat overturned Monday near Cedar Bayou on the Houston Ship Channel. The Coast Guard, Chambers County Sheriff’s office, Port of Houston Fire Department, and Harris County Dive Team searched for nearly 17 hours and covered more than 38 square miles with no sign of the missing man. “We conducted 13 sorties and searched more than 17 hours for the missing man, saturating the area with both aircraft and boats," said Zack Edwards, the command duty officer at Sector Houston-Galveston. "Unfortunately, we did not locate him and have suspended the search.

The Port of Houston Authority’s firefighting team recently received the third and last in series of high-performance emergency response vessels, a fleet of new vessels designed to keep one of the country’s busiest and strategically important waterways safe: The Houston Ship Channel. The Port of Houston Fire Department operates three fire stations stationed along the 52-mile-long Channel, and emergency professionals respond to marine and land fires and other emergencies along the upper ship channel.

A two-week voyage through four Great Lakes and the Mississippi River will bring to the Port of Houston Authority’s firefighting team the third of three new, high-performance emergency response vessels. “The Port of Houston is one of the nation’s busiest ports, and protecting this national asset is essential to the economic well-being of Houston, Texas and the nation,” said Port Authority Executive Director Roger Guenther. The Port of Houston Fire Department operates three fire stations, strategically stationed along the 52-mile-long Houston Ship Channel.

A two-week voyage through four Great Lakes and the Mississippi River will bring to the Port of Houston Authority (ETA May 28, 2014) the third of its three new high-performance emergency response vessels (ERVs). "The Port of Houston is one of the nation's busiest ports, and protecting this national asset is essential to the economic well-being of Houston, Texas and the nation," said Port Authority Executive Director Roger Guenther. The Port of Houston Fire Department operates three fire stations, strategically stationed along the 52-mile-long Houston Ship Channel. Certified emergency professionals respond to marine and land fires and other emergencies along the upper ship channel.

A two-week voyage through four Great Lakes and the Mississippi River will bring to the Port of Houston Authority the first of three high-performance fireboats to replace the current fleet. "As the nation's busiest port in terms of foreign tonnage and home to one of the world's largest petrochemical complexes, our firefighting team is second to none in protecting this national asset and the many who work here," said Port Authority Executive Director Len Waterworth. The five-member crew includes three from the Port of Houston Authority's Fire Department.