Almost four years after he was crushed and severely injured in the Southwest Inn fire that claimed four firefighters, Capt. Bill "Iron Bill" Dowling passed away Tuesday.
Dowling's family posted "Bill went home to be with Jesus today. Thank you all for your prayers," on social media Tuesday evening.
“He's struggling really hard and needs a major intervention. He is very anxious and has not rested well, going on 4 days,” Dowling wife, Jackie, posted on Facebook Tuesday morning. “Please go to God and ask for immediate healing and peace.”
He was recently hospitalized near their Durango, CO, home with cellulitis and pneumonia.
“It’s been a roller coaster of health issues after health issues,” Jackie told television station KHOU last fall. “He gets better, and then pneumonia or he’ll have to have another surgery and all of those set him back to square one.”
Capt. Matthew Renaud, 35; Engineer Operator Robert Bebee, 41; Firefighter Robert Garner, 29 and Anne Sullivan, 24, died in the May 31, 2013 fire now known as “Houston’s Darkest Day."
Dowling was with others when the roof of the motel collapsed while crews searched for occupants and worked to contain the fire. He was trapped in the rubble of the motel for 40 minutes.
Doctors amputated his legs and other injuries left him unable to speak.
After six months in the hospital, Dowling was able to return home.
The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association posted the following message on Facebook Tuesday night:
“The men and women of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association mourn the loss of our brother Captain William ‘Iron Bill’ Dowling. After heroically fighting to overcome the life-altering injuries he sustained in the 2013 Southwest Inn fire that killed four other Houston firefighters, Captain Dowling passed away today due to complications of the injuries.
The HPFFA, the City of Houston, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), and members of the IAFF in the Dowlings’ newly adopted state of Colorado are working to assist the family and affected firefighters during this difficult time.
As we begin to reflect on Captain Dowling’s life, we remember why we call him ‘Iron Bill.’ The incredible strength and bravery he showed as he and his family rebuilt his life – and theirs – after his injuries inspired us all. We also are grateful to our firefighter brothers and sisters in Houston and around the world for the extraordinary assistance they provided to the Dowlings since 2013 – from medical equipment and other items to friendship, support and thoughts and prayers.
We also are thinking about and praying for other Houston firefighters who, like ‘Iron Bill,’ have suffered long-term and career ending injuries at the Southwest Inn fire – especially our brothers and sisters at Stations 51 and 68 and the families of fallen firefighters Matthew Renaud, Robert Bebee, Robert Garner, and Anne Sullivan, who were lost on May 31, 2013.
Please keep the Dowling family, and all of the men and women of our fire department, and the families of those lost, recently and throughout our history, in your thoughts and prayers.”
