CITY OF KATY, Texas (Covering Katy News) — Rufus Summers, who modernized the Katy Fire Department as its interim chief from 2013-16, died March 4. He was 86.
Two former Katy mayors remembered him Tuesday as "the right man at the right time."
Mayor Fabol Hughes, who served from 2013-17, said Katy had a volunteer fire department in those days and city leaders wanted to transform the department into a full-time, professional operation.
"He was our interim fire chief who helped get started with the conversion from a volunteer fire department to a paid fire department," Hughes said.
Hughes said City Council member Chuck Brawner, who later became mayor, knew Summers through his work as police chief at Spring Branch ISD and felt he'd be the right person for the job. Brawner offered to lead the transition.
"Summers was really great and he really was a teacher," Hughes said. "He taught at college and he knew what he was doing, and he really got us started on the right foot. He stayed with us for a while and then we finally hired him. He was really great."
Modernizing the fire department
When Brawner toured the department, he found that some equipment didn't work and the city was relying on part-time firefighters from other departments.
"There were a lot of volunteers, but a lot of times they didn't show up," Brawner said.
On one occasion, only two firefighters showed up to fight a house fire.
"That, to me, was outstandingly bad," Brawner said.
After reaching out to Summers to discuss the situation, the two walked through the department together.
"He came in and we kind of walked through everything again," Brawner said.
Summers then began developing policies and procedures for the department going forward.
"Rufus opened up his books, and he started putting policy together," Brawner said.
Training was another pillar of the modernization effort. Katy firefighters were sent to the Houston Fire Department's training facility to learn the latest techniques.
"They hadn't really been through anything like that," Brawner said. "It was just feeling our way to get the best we could. What we found was that some of the staff that had been there couldn't pass the training, and we had to reassign them outside of the Katy Fire Department."
Some personnel who had held positions within the department lacked the necessary qualifications.
"Unfortunately, there were some people there that were working at the fire department, supposedly as an assistant chief or something, but they didn't have the background whatsoever," Brawner said. "We started having to clean house and start over."
Hughes acknowledged the changes stirred resentment.
"We made a few enemies," Hughes said. "We had some of the volunteer people that didn't like giving up the volunteer thing, but we had to get it done. The city has grown so much, and we knew the volunteer fire department was not going to make it."
Summers served as interim chief but never sought the permanent role — he had retired from Houston and, according to Brawner, was content to remain that way.
"He just had a way, and he was what I would call a gentle giant," Brawner said. "He was always firm but fair to everybody that was there. The ones that had to leave had bad feelings about him, but he managed to just work through all of that stuff because it was for the betterment of our community at that particular time."
The city hired Rusty Wilson in 2016 as permanent chief. He left Katy in 2020 to lead the Mesquite Fire Department and retired from that role in 2024.
Kenneth Parker, then an assistant chief under Wilson, became permanent chief in 2021 and retired in February. Mayor Dusty Thiele appointed assistant chief Dana Massey as interim fire chief. She is the first woman to hold the position.
Memorial service set for March 21
A memorial service for Summers is set for 1 p.m. March 21 at the Settegast-Kopf Company of Sugar Creek, 15015 Southwest Fwy., in Sugar Land.