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Fire Chief Outlines Safety Programs, New Equipment and World Cup Coordination
Summary
Fire Chief Mario Pertita briefed council on prevention priorities (cooking and mechanical failures), free smoke-detector checks, monthly car-seat installations with Texas Children's Hospital, body-worn cameras for inspectors, intersection preemption upgrades, Lucas automated CPR devices and planning with regional partners for the July FIFA World Cup.
Fire Chief Mario Pertita presented an overview of department priorities and community programs, telling council the department is focusing prevention work on two recurring causes of fires—cooking incidents and mechanical failures—and that quarterly data will determine prevention emphasis.
Pertita described community-facing programs: free smoke-detector checks (residents can request home visits) and a monthly car-seat installation clinic at Fire Station 6 in partnership with Texas Children's Hospital and police. He also said the department implemented body-worn cameras for inspectors and investigators for quality improvement and that recorded footage is subject to the Open Records Act.
Pertita described technology efforts to improve response: GPS-based intersection preemption that gives emergency vehicles a green light and a pilot project with Paradigm and Texas A&M that broadcasts an in-vehicle voice alert to newer vehicles approaching an emergency vehicle. He noted the department deployed two Lucas automatic CPR devices on smaller response vehicles to reduce the number of staff transported to hospital while maintaining on-scene care.
On event readiness, Pertita said the department is coordinating with Houston Fire, Harris County and Fort Bend County to prepare for potential overflow related to the July FIFA World Cup. He also announced two ladder trucks are under construction in Appleton, Wisconsin, with expected delivery between October and December.
"We're gonna try to be brief. We have a lot that we're very proud of, that we're working on," Pertita said in opening his remarks. He invited questions from council and remained available for follow up on the department's initiatives.
