Before voters in Houston approved a sales tax in 2019 to benefit the city’s police, fire and parks and recreation departments, Fire Chief Robbie Smith promised citizens and city officials that his department’s share of the revenue would primarily be used to purchase equipment and apparatus, and to fund the construction of a firefighter training facility “at some point down the road.”

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Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Contact him by phone at 417-967-2000 or by email at ddavison@houstonherald.com.