The Fort Worth Fire Department’s Homeless Outreach Team (HOPE Team) responded to a large encampment in downtown Fort Worth. The encampment was tucked under a bridge, down a steep embankment, and the terrain made access extremely challenging. When the team arrived, everyone at the site said they were ready to go to a shelter—but four individuals were without shoes, their footwear frozen from the night outdoors.
One man was exhausted and emotionally distressed from exposure to extreme cold, so a firefighter carried him on his back. Halfway up the hill, the man started seizing from hypothermia-related complications. Louis Pantoja and Chris Provence were among those first responders. In all, the…..