Firefighter Carries Homeless Man Through Snow To Shelter And Safety

January 29, 2026

Fort Worth firefighters are being praised for their heroic efforts to keep the city’s most vulnerable safe during a winter storm.

Louis Pantoja / Fort Worth Fire Department

On the morning of Sunday, January 25, the Fort Worth Fire Department’s Homeless Outreach Team (HOPE Team) responded to a large encampment off East 9th Street in downtown Fort Worth. The team had visited the site the day before, offering transportation to a warming shelter, and returned to check on those who had spent the night outside in freezing temperatures.

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.

Facing harsh conditions, the HOPE team made the critical decision to carry people up the hill to the transport bus to ensure their safety.

One man, visibly exhausted and emotionally distressed from exposure to extreme cold, became the focus of a life-saving effort. A firefighter carried him on his back, reassuring him that help was coming. Halfway up the hill, the man began seizing from hypothermia-related complications.

The team immediately rushed him to the bus, started warming measures, and called for an ambulance. Despite several additional seizure episodes, the firefighter and emergency personnel stabilized the man, who was later transported to a hospital for advanced medical care.

Once the medical emergency was addressed, the HOPE team resumed their work, safely transporting the remaining residents to shelters and ensuring everyone was removed from the cold.

HOPE — standing for Home. Outreach. Prevention. Education. — has been actively serving Fort Worth residents during the winter storm, making over 300 contacts, distributing blankets, gloves, and hand warmers, assisting 150 people to local shelters, and reuniting 60 others with family or friends who could provide a safe place to stay.

Every resident is a priority, the Fort Worth Fire Department emphasizes. And during extreme winter weather, their message is clear: “We help one another, no matter what.”