10 Houston fire houses dealing with air conditioning issues, temperatures soaring to 90s

HOUSTON - Ten Houston Fire Department stations are dealing with air conditioning issues as temperatures across Southeast Texas sore close to 100 degrees. Pictures sent to FOX 26 from inside HFD stations show thermostat readings in the upper 80s and low 90s.

"It should be shocking to everybody," said Patrick "Marty" Lancton, President of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters' Association. "This is record temperatures.  We can’t expect our men and women to go out there on these hot days, respond to emergencies of the citizens, and come back to a station that doesn’t have properly working air conditioning."

While 10 HFD stations are dealing with AC issues, Chief Samuel Pena says no station is without some type of cooling equipment.

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"Regarding the fire station HVAC units, we have 10 stations that have reported some issue with their units," said Chief Pena.  "Those stations have spot coolers in place, not optimal but General Services Division (GSD) will maintain them in place until GSD completes the repairs or replacement of the main HVAC. Availability of HVAC parts and materials from contractors has been an issue faced by GSD."

An anonymous veteran firefighter met with FOX 26 on Friday to discuss the AC issue at certain stations.  The firefighter chose to hide their identity out of fear of losing their job.

"We have those little portable fans, or our own personal fans to try and cool off," said the anonymous firefighter.  "It’s the same thing, just circulating hot air. We have window units, but it’s so hot the window units aren’t even keeping up."

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Over the last few weeks, temperatures in Houston have climbed above 100 degrees.  However, heat index values have exceed 115 in some cases.

"It’s actually miserable," said the firefighter.  "When you come off like today, it’s just scorching hot.  We go out, we work a motor vehicle accident, we’re standing out there in the sun for however long it may take.  Then, when we get back into the station, instead of walking back into a cool building, we walk into a building that’s circulating hot air."

"How many alerts do we put out a day talking about heat advisories?" said Lancton.  "It’s really difficult when we’re asking our men and women to put their lives on the line to respond to the emergencies of citizens and they can’t even go back and stay inside to cool off.  It’s unacceptable.  These temperatures are dangerous.  It’s a health and safety issue."

One Houston resident says she delivered food to HFD Station 78 nearly a month ago and noticed extreme heat inside the building.  A few weeks later, the resident says it's still hot inside HFD 78.

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"It’s just unacceptable," said Chelsea Anderson, a Houston resident.  "We pay tax dollars for a reason.  We could fundraise and get the community to pay for it.  The problem is that our tax dollars should be paying for it. If this were to happen at City Hall it would have been fixed within the day or week.  Now, I think [this specific work order] was put in on May 22.  It has been over a month and our guys are baking."

Temperatures this weekend are supposed to stay hot across the Houston area.  Firefighters from 10 Houston fire stations are hoping their air conditioning issues are resolved soon.

"It’s unbearable heat," said the anonymous firefighter.  "If you’re at home and the AC isn’t working, it’s that kind of heat plus 2."