Beaumont family mourns death of Houston firefighter

One of two firefighters who died in Houston house fire on Easter Sunday has close relatives in Beaumont, and they're asking the community to pray for his family and for all first responders who risk their lives.

Capt. James Harlow was 50 years old and spent three decades with the Houston Fire Department. He was married for more than 30 years and leaves behind his wife, two sons and a daughter.

A number of Capt. Harlow's relatives live in Southeast Texas, including a sister in Beaumont.

29 year old Damion Hobbs graduated from the Houston Fire Department training center on March 3. He received his first assignment March 7.

No one in the Beaumont Fire Department has ever died fighting a fire, although that nearly happened in December of 2007.

Since then the department has begun a new training program with the goal of allowing firefighters to serve the public without sacrificing their lives.

A memorial to firefighters lost in the line of duty across the state will have two more bricks added in Beaumont.

"It's one of those calculated risks that we look at as firefighters," said Capt. Brad Pennison with the Beaumont Fire Department. "We're putting our lives on the line every time we do our job."

Damion Hobbs, 29, and Capt. James Harlow, 50, died fighting a house fire in Houston early Sunday morning.

The couple that lived in the home escaped. Investigators are trying to find out how the two men became trapped and why no one knew until it was too late.

"We understand in our hearts what the firefighters are going through so we reach out to them," said Capt. Pennison. "We feel that loss even though we may not know the firefighters personally. We know what they're going through."

On December 17, 2007, Beaumont firefighters were trapped inside a burning home.

Cody Schroeder and Calvin Carrier were pulled from the house after a flash over.

Since then, the Beaumont Fire Department has begun special training.

"Specialized training for firefighters to go in and rescue firefighters," said Capt. Penisson. "We had some local firefighters develop the course for the department and use practical applications."

The department has also developed new guidelines for managing the fire grounds and added new bunker gear.

"The macho job is go in and put out fires, and we're still going to do that, but we're going to try our best to manage the risk the best we can," said Capt. Penisson.

Managing the risk so they can serve the public while keeping their names from appearing on a brick in the memorial.

The Beaumont Fire Department will send official representation to the memorial service for Capt. Harlow and Hobbs on Thursday in Houston.

About 24 off duty Beaumont firefighters are volunteering to man Houston stations while Houston firefighters attend the funerals on Friday.

Capt. Harlow's sister, Terri Perricone, lives in Beaumont with her husband. We spoke with her by telephone Tuesday morning.

"You don't realize until they're gone just how much they help everybody," said Perricone.

"I'd love to have him back, but I realize he's okay now. He's with the Lord."

Capt. Harlow was her big brother, but Perricone she says Houston firefighters had him for the past 30 years and they were his brothers for that period of time.

She says Houston firefighters told her how sorry they were about the family's loss. Terri says she told them, "No, we're sorry for your loss."