Forest Bend fire chief’s death to be classified as in the line of duty death Flags at the Forest Bend Volunteer Fire Department were at half-staff Saturday (11/25/2023) as the small Harris County department mourned the death of their fire chief. Chief John Norris died of an apparent heart attack soon after returning home from a multi-agency response to a fire in Friendswood. Norris was named Forest Bend’s chief in September after six years as deputy chief. He was an 18-year member of the Forest Bend Fire Department. He was also a retired Houston Fire Department Captain who worked for that department for 32 years. He retired from HFD in June 2022. Forest Bend Deputy Chief Roy Hunter said Norris was “a firefighter’s firefighter,” a mentor for dozens of young firefighters as the Forest Bend FD’s training officer. “He was all about firefighting, wanted to teach the new guys to be the best that they could be,” Hunter said. “When the call came in, he was about going out and fighting the fire.” Even with his responsibilities as a fire captain in Houston, Norris still found time to volunteer for Forest Bend, Hunter said. Hunter said the Line of Duty Death Task Force had already been on site to determine if Norris’ death, having come so soon after responding to a call, would be classified as a line of duty death. Officials with the city of Friendswood, in a media release, confirmed that Norris’ death would be considered in the line of duty. Incidentally, Norris’ wife, Wendy Norris, founded the Texas Line of Duty Death Task Force. Hunter said Norris’ death would be the first in the line of duty death ever in Forest Bend’s existence. The department, founded in 1973, provides fire fighting for 6 square miles with a population of 17,000 residents and more than 150 businesses in unincorporated south Harris County near Friendswood. There are 24 volunteers and 25 paid firefighters with the Forest Bend Volunteer Fire Department. Norris and an engine crew from Forest Bend assisted the Friendswood Fire Department in battling a multi-alarm blaze that engulfed an abandoned house scheduled for demolition within the next few weeks. League City and Webster fire departments also assisted in fighting the fire on Woodvine Street near Clear Creek. Soon after the fire was under control, Norris and his firefighters returned to the station. Norris was at home when he suffered what appears to have been a heart attack. He was taken by ambulance to HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake Hospital, where he died. A line of firetrucks and firefighters escorted the ambulance carrying Norris from the hospital to the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office. Norris is survived by his wife, Wendy, a fire department member, and their daughter Catherine. Meanwhile, area fire departments are stepping in to staff the Forest Bend Fire Department to allow the department’s firefighters to grieve, Hunter said. Santa Fe Fire and Rescue sent a crew over Saturday afternoon, and a League City crew was scheduled to fill in overnight, Hunter said.

Posted by i45NOW TJ Aulds at 2023-11-26 01:03:30 UTC