Ted Poe: “When there is a blaze, when there is a fire, when there is an explosion, when someone has an emergency medical problem…”

“When there is a blaze, when there is a fire, when there is an explosion, when someone has an emergency medical problem, the firefighter--the EMT rush in. That is what they do. While others flee danger, the firefighter with sirens, red lights, horns, red and white trucks charge into the jaws and midst of danger. Sometimes the danger is overwhelming and firefighters are injured and some are killed. This has been a tragic year in Texas for firefighters. On April 17 in West, Texas, 10 firefighters were killed while putting out the fire at a fertilizer plant that had exploded. Last Friday, in the heat of the Texas noonday Sun, a restaurant on the highly traveled Southwest Freeway caught fire. Then with the high winds, the fire spread to a nearby hotel. Houston firefighters arrived at the scene in minutes. They heard screams from citizens, and they rushed into the hotel to find potential trapped guests. The hotel suddenly became a hellish inferno. First, the two-alarm, then a five-alarm fire. It took over 2 hours to get the fires under control. While the firefighters were in the hotel looking for people who stayed there, the roof of the hotel collapsed, trapping and killing four firefighters. Thirteen others were injured--some critically. These are photographs of the four firefighters, Mr. Speaker: Engineer Operator EMT, Robert Bebee, right here. He was 41 years of age. He's a graduate from Dobie High School, and he was a firefighter at Station 51.…”