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Anne McCormick Sullivan

Firefighter

Houston Fire Department units were dispatched to a report of a fire in a motel. Captain Renaud and Engineer Operator Bebee were on the first engine to arrive at the scene. Firefighters found a working fire with heavy smoke showing and advanced a 2-1/2 inch handline into the structure. Firefighters opened the ceiling as they advanced and found fire in the space above. Firefighters were ordered to withdraw from the structure while a water supply was secured.

Once a water supply was established, firefighters advanced into the structure. Firefighters Garner and Sullivan, from the second engine to arrive on-scene, backed up other firefighters. As firefighters advanced, a structural collapse occurred and trapped a number of firefighters. Four firefighters were killed as a result of the collapse and over a dozen were injured, including a Captain received severe injuries.

Autopsy examinations revealed the firefighters died from thermal injuries, smoke inhalation, and compressional asphyxia.

The Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office has prepared a comprehensive report on this incident. The report is available at https://www.tdi.texas.gov/reports/fire/documents/fmloddhouston2013.pdf

Incident Location: 6855 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77074 USNG: 15R TN 5780 8940

photo of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial
Anne McCormick Sullivan was honored on the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland and was included in the USFA’s annual report Firefighter Fatalities in the United States.

Department information

Houston Fire Department
600 Jefferson, 7th FL
USNG: 15R TN 7054 9373
Houston, Texas 77002

Chief: Terry Garrison

View NIOSH Report

Age: 24
Rank: Firefighter
Classification: Career
Incident date: May 31, 2013 12:07
Date of death: May 31, 2013
Cause of fatal injury: Caught or Trapped
Nature of fatal injury: Crushed
Activity type: Advance Hose Lines/Fire Attack (includes Wildland)
Emergency duty: Yes
Duty type: On-Scene Fire

Last updated: January 10, 2018