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Maintaining adequate staffing levels is tough for any public entity, but it has been extremely hard on the Tomball Fire Department (TFD). With a booming population comes increased traffic, more accidents and more calls for service.

“It’s a balancing act,” Tomball Fire Chief Randy Parr said.

That’s why when word came of a federal grant program that would enable the department to hire more firefighters, Parr jumped at the chance to apply. The Tomball City Council gave Parr permission to apply for the grant and he recently heard from FEMA that their grant proposal was accepted.

A grant for a little more than $1.2 million spread out over two years, will enable Parr to hire nine fulltime firefighters.

“This is truly a game changer for the Tomball Fire Department,” he said. “It will provide continuity in our operations and groups of firefighters will be able to work together continuously.”

The department has always been able to maintain a high rating, even in the face of staffing shortages, Parr said, but the constant struggle to move parts and people around hasn’t been easy.

“The issue has been to have enough consistent staffing to keep two fire stations open for 24 hours,” he said. “In order to do that, we have to have two apparatuses staffed with a minimum of three people.”

Parr said that two out of every three days, station two on Holderreith Road is closed at night, due to understaffing.

“In order to mitigate that we have to have four full-time firefighters,” he said. “This will improve the safety of the community and the safety of our firefighters.”

The grant will be all of the salary and benefits for the nine firefighters, which Parr said will consist of three officers, three driver/operators and three firefighters. A cutback of part-time firefighter hours and continued growth of city and emergency service district revenue streams, will go towards ensuring the department will be able to keep the new firefighters after the two-year grant period. Parr said that he, Tomball City Manager George Shackelford and the Tomball City Council will work together over the next year to come up with a plan.

“We still continue to anticipate growth in revenues,” Parr said.

Parr said that once news arrived that TFD was being awarded the grant, he knew the community had won.

“We will now be able to provide our good, consistent service for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

The smell of gas still fills the air in the storage lot of Tomball Towing and Storage, days after a large fire destroyed at least 10 cars and damaged several more.

"There was stuff exploding the entire time we were fighting the fire," Tomball Fire Chief Randy Parr said. "Gas tanks, tires, shock absorbers. There was magnesium in one of the engine blocks and when you hit magnesium with water it just causes the flames to roar."

The fire started around 4:30 a.m. Oct. 30. While the cause is still under investigation by Harris County Fire Marshals, proof of arson still lies everywhere. Several cars had windows busted out and their insides were doused with gasoline, but were spared from the blaze.

Once Tomball Fire Department (TFD) firefighters reached the scene it look less than an hour to knock out the fire, according to Parr.

"Once we got through the gate it took us about a half-hour to three-quarters of an hour to knock it down," he said.

The lot serves as a storage lot for wrecked and damaged cars, as well as cars impounded by law enforcement.

"(The TFD) did a wonderful job," Randy Schmidt, owner of Tomball Towing and Storage said. "The response time and how quick they contained it was amazing. It could have been a lot worse. We could have easily lost 100 cars."

Officials from the Harris County Fire Marshal's office are still investigating the blaze.

Members of the Tomball High School Student Council rewarded area police officers, firefighters and EMS workers for their dedication, by providing a free lunch for them Jan. 30. Students called it the Food for Courage campaign.

"We started this five years ago with a Cookies for Courage campaign and it evolved into serving an entire meal," said student council advisor Billie Ann Dio. "It's a way of giving back and a good way for the students to see the true heroes of the community."

The students served beef stew, rice, salad, bread and desserts. The desserts were made by the students, while the staff of the Tomball High School cafeteria helped make the rest of the meal.

"It's a great blessing for me to be able to do something like this," said student council President Anna Liu. "A lot of people my age don't get to contribute to their community. I get a lot out of giving back. I love getting to show them gratitude for all that they do for us."

Student Matthew Pallini agreed with Liu.

"It's very comforting to help the people who help us," he said.

Cpt. Daniel Hancock of Northwest EMS said recognition and appreciation like this makes the job worthwhile.

"We don't work for thank you's, we do this because we love to help, but something like this is very nice and motivational," he said.

Tomball Police Cpt. Rick Grassi said that seeing the area youth come together like this gives him hope for the future.

"It's wonderful to see the youth leaders of the community showing their appreciation for the men and women of public safety," he said. "Seeing these kids reach out to recognize us inspires me and I hope that we inspire them to help others as well."

Firefighters were able to safe the outside of a home gutted by fire in Tomball last week. The home, located at the intersection of Carrell and Peach streets, was ravaged by a fire that started in the garage.

"We were able to stop it as it got into the kitchen," said Tomball Fire Marshal Doug Sanguedolce. "The living room was completely destroyed."

Fire officials said that up to four people were inside the home, as well as two dogs, but all were able to get out safely.

Sanguedolce believes that about 80 percent of the home was damaged and that many of the bedrooms received some heat and smoke damage. Firefighters from Tomball, Spring, Klein and Magnolia spent about four hours at the scene.

Sanguedolce said heavy wind gusts played havoc with firefighters, as they scrambled to put the fire out.

"The wind just blew the fire right into the living room from the garage," he said.

He said that initial investigations point to an electrical fire.

"We are probably looking at some type of electrical short at this point," he said.

Sanguedolce said that he believes at this point that the short might have been caused by the garage door opener, which he said was at least 10-15 years old.

The residents of the home had insurance and fire officials will assist them in getting help if they need it.

"We referred them to several local resources," Sanguedolce said.

Lisa Griffin of the Tomball Fire Department was recognized as Officer of the Month at the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce First Friday Networking Lunch-eon, May 3. Griffin was acknowledged for outstanding service and initiative on the job. Pictured are (from left) Debbie Gray of Woodforest National Bank, Griffin and Tomball Fire Chief Randy Parr.