HOUSTON — The fire captain who was injured battling a 5-alarm blaze on May 31 at a Houston motel will be released from the hospital Wednesday. Four firefighters died in that fire.
KHOU reported that Capt. Bill Dowling, who lost both of his legs and suffered brain damage after getting trapped in the fire, is now being allowed to return home. Capt. Dowling has had months of rehab and still has a long road of recovery ahead.
Houston Fire Department units and firefighters will line the streets to salute Capt. Dowling as he leaves the hospital. Volunteer fire departments will also be staged along the route outside the city limits, according to the report.
The May 31 motel fire has become known as the deadliest day in the Houston Fire Department’s 118-year history. There were four others killed in the Southwest Inn fire: Capt. Matthew Renaud, 35; engineer operator Robert Bebee, 41; firefighter Robert Garner, 29; and Anne Sullivan, 24, a probationary firefighter who had graduated in April from the Houston Fire Department Academy.