Every rescue boat.
Every thermal camera.
Every dollar, accounted for.
The boats
that saved lives.
When Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston, the Foundation’s donor-funded rescue boats were already in place. HFD firefighters used them to pull neighbors from second-floor windows. People who would not have made it out otherwise.
The same quiet logic applies to firefighter cancer. Job-related cancer kills more firefighters than fire itself. The Foundation has placed extractor machines in all 93 Houston stations, the single most effective intervention against carcinogens trapped in turnout gear.
Neither of these purchases made news. Both are why this Foundation exists.
What donor dollars actually bought.
Hurricane Harvey
Rescue Boats
Pre-positioned in every quadrant of the city, these boats pulled Houstonians from second-floor windows when the storm surge hit.
Multiple vendors
Extractor Machines
All 93 Stations
Industrial machines that remove carcinogens from turnout gear after every fire. Most cost-effective intervention against firefighter cancer.
Various suppliers
Thermal Cameras
28 Units Donated
Handheld cameras that let firefighters see through smoke to locate victims and hotspots. Cheniere Energy partnership.
Cheniere Energy + FFFH
50" Trailer-Mounted
Scene Fan
Industrial ventilation fan used in high-rise fires. Clears visibility and extracts heat to protect firefighters and occupants.
Cheniere Energy
Body-Worn
Cameras
Scene documentation for training, accountability, and community transparency. Deployed across multiple stations.
Motorola Solutions
Battery-Powered
High-Powered Fans
Latest-generation battery ventilation. No diesel, no cables, quick deployment at any scene. Cheniere Energy partnership continues.
Cheniere Energy
Every purchase. Every year.
The complete equipment ledger since 2006. Filter by year, category or item.
| Year | Item | Category | Vendor | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Kosmos Ultrasound Probes (20) Torso-One USB probes with clinical features | Medical | EchoNous, Inc. | $124,000 |
| 2025 | Waterway Ball Valves, Tips & Grips (100) Nozzle and hose fittings across the department | Scene Equipment | Metro Fire Apparatus Specialist | $137,300 |
| 2025 | Hotstick Voltage Detectors (150) Live-wire detection on scene | Safety | Delta Fire & Safety | $83,250 |
| 2025 | APX6000 Portable Radios (10) 7/800 MHz portable units | Communications | Motorola Solutions | $62,336 |
| 2025 | Super Vac 18" Battery Fans (10) Battery ventilation, no diesel and no cables | Ventilation | Metro Fire Apparatus Specialist | $56,640 |
| 2025 | Semi-Automatic Defibrillators (26) Cardiac response on medical calls | Medical | Stryker Sales LLC | $43,890 |
| 2025 | Thermal Camera Kits (5) Seeing through smoke to locate victims | Thermal Imaging | Metro Fire Apparatus Specialist | $14,760 |
| 2024 | SDI APX Personnel Application Personnel accountability on the radio system | Communications | Motorola Solutions | $78,164 |
| 2024 | Infrared Cameras (18) First of two 2024 batches | Thermal Imaging | Metro Fire Apparatus Specialist | $50,040 |
| 2024 | Curpalex Traction Splints (150) Field treatment of leg fractures | Medical | Bound Tree Medical | $23,576 |
| 2024 | Infrared Cameras (7) Second 2024 batch | Thermal Imaging | Metro Fire Apparatus Specialist | $19,460 |
| 2023 | 18" PPV Fans (38) Positive pressure ventilation across the department | Ventilation | Metro Fire Apparatus Specialist | $200,640 |
| 2023 | SEMS II Units & USB Gateway (25) Scene monitoring equipment | Safety | Metro Fire Apparatus Specialist | $42,910 |
| 2023 | Carbon Monoxide Detectors (201) Distributed across stations | Safety | First Alert | $8,436 |
| 2022 | Station Fitness Equipment Firefighter health and injury prevention | Firefighter Health | Rogue Fitness | $191,396 |
| 2021 | Extractors for HFD (15) Cancer prevention, further stations | Cancer Prevention | Clec Distribution LLC | $118,950 |
| 2020 | Face & Glove Belt Pouches (3,772) Pandemic-era protective equipment | Protective Equipment | Bound Tree Medical | $82,531 |
| 2019 | Unimac 40lb Washer Extractors (29) With pumps, bases and cleaning chemicals | Cancer Prevention | Clec Distribution LLC | $228,170 |
| 2019 | Ambulance Chassis & Frazer Module Complete ambulance unit | Vehicles | Knapp Chevrolet | $192,210 |
| 2018 | Fire House Ventilation System Exhaust extraction inside the station | Cancer Prevention | Air Cleaning Technologies | $106,400 |
| 2017 | Protective Hoods for Facemasks Barrier against carcinogens at the neck and jaw | Protective Equipment | City of Houston | $140,000 |
| 2016 | Blitzfire Nozzles (21) & Oscillators (9) Portable high-flow attack monitors | Rescue Tools | Metro Fire Apparatus Specialist | $96,230 |
| 2011 | Pressure Gauges, Hose Straps & Entry Tools Wrenches, bolt cutters and high-rise straps in bulk | Rescue Tools | Dooley Tackaberry | $66,590 |
| No purchases recorded in this range yet. | ||||
Twenty years of showing up.
Foundation founded
The Fire Fighters Foundation of Houston is established as the first foundation in Houston to provide non-governmental funding to firefighters. Recognized as the Charity of the Houston Fire Department.
Hurricane Harvey
Donor-funded rescue boats deployed across the city pull residents from flooded homes. Foundation responds by expanding coverage. Every quadrant of Houston now has donor-funded rescue capability.
Cancer prevention campaign begins
The Foundation launches a multi-year campaign to place industrial extractor machines in every HFD station, with ExxonMobil stepping in during COVID-19.
Cheniere Energy partnership begins
28 thermal imaging cameras donated to the HFD training facility in partnership with Cheniere Energy, marking the start of one of the Foundation’s most durable corporate partnerships.
All 93 stations equipped
The Foundation reaches a milestone: every HFD fire station now has a cancer-prevention extractor. The single most effective intervention against firefighter cancer, delivered citywide.
Twenty years in, the work continues
The Foundation enters its third decade with the launch of the Friends of Houston Firefighters corporate program, and a board of volunteer Houston executives still giving their time.
Be part of the next twenty years.
Every gift gets itemized in this ledger. Every donor sees exactly what their money bought. That’s how the Foundation has earned twenty years of trust, and how it plans to earn twenty more.
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