Houston firefighter dies in warehouse fire after wall collapses

A Houston firefighter has died after he and another first responder were injured while battling a camp fire.

According to Fire Chief Thomas Muñoz, who spoke at a press conference overnight, the Houston Fire Department responded to the Polk Street fire around 10:50 p.m. local time on Wednesday, November 6th.

Less than 10 minutes after emergency services arrived at the scene, an emergency call was made from inside the burning building after a wall collapsed, Muñoz said.

According to the fire department, two firefighters were then transported to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. Among them was 42-year-old Marcelo Garcia, who died from his injuries, Muñoz said.

Garcia had been with the HFD for 10 years and spent the last six at Station 23. Muñoz described him as “a true hero.”

“He was a man who woke up every morning to come to work to help others and save lives,” the fire chief told reporters.

Patrick “Marty” Lancton of the Houston Firefighter's Union said at the news conference that it was “a very sad day for the Houston Fire Department.”

“We grieve together, we pray together, but more importantly, we honor our brother and his life. We honor it together,” he said at the press conference.

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Houston Mayor John Whitmire said he met Garcia recently and described him as a “young man with his life ahead of him.”

“Firefighter Garcia left this morning expecting a good day, a hard day, a dangerous day, but he expected to go home,” Whitmire told reporters. He later added, “We will be honoring Firefighter Garcia throughout the city. We won't forget him.”

According to Muñoz, the fire in the warehouse was eventually extinguished.

The second firefighter injured while fighting the fire suffered minor injuries, the fire chief said.

“Information about the funeral will be announced in the coming days,” the fire department said in a post on X.