HOUSTON, Texas – Houston Mayor John Whitmire confirmed to KPRC 2 Investigates on Friday morning that a new Houston Fire Department Chief, Thomas Muñoz, will replace current chief Sam Peña.
“He plans to retire. I thank him for his service,” said Whitmire in a call to KPRC 2′s Mario Diaz.
The mayor went on to add, “He has served us during some difficult times. I said during the campaign my department heads will have six months to prove themselves and I think it’s time to make a change. I think we can do better, in fact, we will do better.”
Muñoz has served the city as the Office of Emergency Management Deputy Director and Emergency Coordinator, and has over 26 years of experience as a first responder, emergency manager and Coast Guard, according to his city of Houston bio.
In a text message, Peña told KPRC 2 Investigates Mario Diaz “I’ve had no conversation with the mayor about this.”
Peña a 28-year veteran has been chief of the Houston Fire Department since Dec. 19, 2016. Over his tenure he led the third-largest municipal fire department in the country with more than 3,000 personnel. He also was at the center of a bitter legal fight between the union and his former boss, Mayor Sylvester Turner. The lengthy battle impacted Peña’s reputation with the union and firefighters creating morale issues within the ranks.
He previously served three years and nine months as fire chief in El Paso, Texas.
According to the HFD website, Peña completed his paramedic training at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center EMS Division in 1998. He served previously as Task Force leader for the El Paso Hazardous Materials Team and Special Rescue team; coordinator for the combined search and rescue (ComSAR) mountain rescue team; Strategic Planning Chief, Public Information Office, Training Chief, and Assistant Chief of Emergency Operations. Chief Peña has served in the City of Houston Unified Command directing the Houston Fire Department assets during Hurricane Harvey, Tropical Storm Imelda, Tropical Storm Beta, Hurricane Nicholas, Winter Storm Uri, Super Bowl 51, World Series 2017, 2019, 2021, and the Watson Grinding explosion in 2020.
Peña holds a Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Texas at El Paso, and served four years as a command and control specialist in the U.S. Air Force.
Peña has membership in the International Association of Fire Chiefs; IAFC Terrorism and Homeland Security Committee; Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, National Fire Protection Association and the National Association of Search and Rescue.