HOUSTON — On the very site of the worst tragedy in the history of the Houston Fire Department, dozens of firefighters and their families gathered to honor their heroes.
May 31, 2019 marked 6 years since the huge fire at the Southwest Inn along the Southwest Freeway. Four firefighters were killed and more than a dozen others were injured.
A moment of silence was observed at 12:07 p.m., the exact moment the call came in that day alerting firefighters about the blaze.
On May 31, 2013, there was a 5-alarm blaze at the Southwest Inn. Believing there were people trapped inside, firefighters launched a rescue attempt. But then the roof collapsed.
Firefighters Robert Bebee, Matthew Renaud, Anne Sullivan and Robert Garner were killed. Captain Bill Dowling was seriously injured and later died in 2017.
His widow, Jacki Dowling, talked about her family's continued hardships.
“My life will never be the same, and I'm sure everyone else is having the struggles we are,” Jacki Dowling said. “It’s changed us forever. We're just still rebuilding."
There's hope that a permanent monument of some kind can be built on this site.
"We just have this makeshift memorial now," said Curtis Seamans, a retired district chief. "There may be something for the future. They're kind of talking that over, trying to decide what’s gonna happen, but I think the new owners are going to try to work with them as much as they can."
But for now, they're remembering the brave firefighters who died or were injured on that horrible day 6 years ago.
ALSO POPULAR ON KHOU.COM