Harris County Emergency Services District No. 48 and the West I-10 Volunteer Fire Department—which previously provided services to the northeastern region of the greater Katy area—have been fighting over millions of dollars’ worth of fire engines and bunker gear for more than a year. However, officials with Harris County ESD No. 48 have refocused their efforts toward educating the public on cutting-edge programs and life-saving devices.

“We weren’t going to not serve the public,” said Lt. Simon VanDyk, Harris County ESD No. 48’s public information officer. He said the litigation has been a setback but has not caused a substantial change in how the public is served.

The ESD became a combination volunteer and career department and took over the area previously covered by the West I-10 station in August 2015. Harris County ESD No. 48 moved into a new $9 million station on Morton Road in October.

Legal matters

As Harris County ESD No. 48 forges ahead with innovative strategies, which includes becoming one of the only departments in the state to carry blood products in ground vehicles, it also is combating litigation–ongoing since July 2015–that is stifling the use of equipment, including several fire trucks. Helmets, personal protective equipment and other bunker gear were seized from the lockers of the men and women who opted to leave the West I-10 department when litigation began, according to Harris County ESD No. 48 officials.

Harris County ESD No. 48 began providing its own emergency response services in August 2015 rather than continuing to contract with the West I-10 Volunteer Fire Department. When Harris County ESD No. 48 Fire Chief Jeff Hevey split from West I-10 VFD, he said more than 85 percent of the volunteers joined him.

“We were completely mobile, working out of an equestrian center in a [recreational vehicle],” VanDyk said. “It was like a nativity scene.”

Once West I-10 VFD filed suit against Harris County ESD No. 48, several neighboring departments offered to share equipment, and the chiefs for Katy, Cy-Fair, Willowfork and Westlake signed letters acknowledging mutual aid agreements with ESD 48.

According to legal documents, West I-10 VFD board members have maintained that they own all fire and emergency assets per a fee-for-service contract with ESD 48. VanDyk said West I-10 VFD has not responded to a service call since August 2015, but the equipment remains locked in storage and unavailable for use. Necessary maintenance and repairs could come at a significant cost once the assets are back in service, VanDyk said.

The assets West I-10 VFD has in storage are worth at least $8 million to $10 million, VanDyk said—although that figure has been publicly disputed as much lower by West I-10 VFD personnel.

VanDyk said the dispute over equipment has not significantly hindered Harris County ESD No. 48 from providing education, fire suppression and innovations in service.

“We don’t have as much manpower, but we are better served today,” VanDyk said. “The old [West I-10] VFD is hindering our response because they have our vehicles. We’re already doing better, but we could be doing more.”

West I-10 VFD officials said in a public statement published on the department’s website that, “In 2015, ESD 48 began to withhold payments to the volunteer fire department and eventually announced that ESD 48 was going to take control of emergency response for the area. ESD 48 then attempted to seize all of West I-10 VFD’s property without any compensation, and the two parties ended up in district court.”

According to its website, West I-10 VFD continues to offer public education programs and is available to provide mutual aid to other departments.

ESD 48 operates four stations and a future facility is planned for Porter Road. The department staffs four trucks and four ambulances 24 hours a day.

A court ruling issued in December ruled in favor of Harris County ESD No. 48, stating West I-10 VFD’s claims that shared equipment belongs to it “are without merit and are dismissed without prejudice.” The West I-10 department appealed the ruling, and a hearing is scheduled for March 3 before Judge Elaine Palmer of Harris County’s 215th District Court. VanDyk said the judge is expected to set a bond at that hearing, and if West I-10 cannot meet the bond set, it will have to release the assets.

Stop the bleed program

While litigation is pending, Harris County ESD No. 48 is focused on programs, such as smoke alarm testing, exit strategy planning and home safety surveys. A program that has set it apart from other fire departments across the state is Stop the Bleed, a two-pronged program that ensures the ability to offer blood products via ground ambulance rather than through a LifeFlight helicopter or similar facility, and promotes education on things like how to apply a tourniquet.

Because blood must be stored at a specific temperature and its storage has to be monitored, it is not typically housed long-term in ground vehicles. 

VanDyk said before the program began, emergency response officials speculated blood storage in ground-based units was not possible.

“They said that there’s no way a ground ambulance could maintain the products,” he said, adding the department worked with Texas Trauma Institute at Memorial Hermann Hospital to implement its Stop the Bleed program. “Now other agencies are modeling it. ... It doesn’t matter if the medicine gets there faster if they’ve already lost a lot of blood.”

According to the Stop the Bleed website, the initiative is a national campaign to “provide bystanders with the tools and knowledge to stop life-threatening bleeding. Working with the private sector and nonprofit organizations, the Stop the Bleed campaign will put knowledge gained by first responders and our military into the hands of the public to help save lives.”

Harris County ESD No. 48 has trained more than 300 people in the program, including Katy ISD school nurses and local law enforcement officers, pointing out that while it is trendy for businesses to conduct active shooter training, they do not often provide education on what to do once someone has actually been shot.

“If a police officer is shot, blood loss is a major issue,” VanDyk said. “Stop the Bleed kits can save a lot of lives.”

Hevey said if a bullet hits a femoral or brachial artery, a victim can bleed out in as little as four minutes.

Harris County ESD No. 48 Community Education Coordinator Shelby Johnson said prevention and education is a primary goal.

“Most people just expect us to be reactive,” she said. “If we can catch people on the front end, we can prevent them from having to call 911. We can save lives if we catch them before their worst day.”