{"id":438309,"date":"2026-09-17T01:56:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T01:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/438309\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T01:56:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T01:56:29","slug":"westfield-fire-chief-shares-personal-story-of-giving-back-during-hispanic-heritage-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/438309\/","title":{"rendered":"Westfield fire chief shares personal story of giving back during Hispanic Heritage Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Hispanic \"Hispanic <\/p>\n

HOUSTON – In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, FOX 26 is spotlighting local figures making a profound impact across the Houston area. In Northeast Harris County, one leader\u2019s journey shows how deep roots can shape a life of service.<\/p>\n

Deep roots in East Aldine <\/p>\n

The backstory:<\/p>\n

Standing at the intersection of Bentley and Mooney, Chief Adrian Dillehay looks out over a neighborhood that shaped who he is today.<\/p>\n

“We’re currently in East Aldine, in northeast Harris County,” Chief Dillehay said. “Back in the 1900s, this was a farmland. It was a farmland area\u2014a lot of hardworking folks. And it kind of still stands as that today.”<\/p>\n

For Dillehay, the connection to these streets isn’t just professional; it’s deeply personal. Pointing to a tattoo on his arm, he shares the emotional story behind the ink.<\/p>\n

“My grandmother’s house was right here on Mooney,” Dillehay said. “There’s a lot of emotional ties here, a lot of family ties.”<\/p>\n

\u2018This fire department saved my life\u2019 <\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

Growing up without a clear path forward, Dillehay says he found purpose when he walked through the doors of the local station as a young man.<\/p>\n

“To be honest\u2014not to say too much\u2014this fire department essentially saved my life,” Dillehay said. “I was growing up in the neighborhood where I didn’t have a lot of direction. I joined the Westfield Fire Department, and today, I am the fire chief of it.”<\/p>\n

\"\" Representing the next generation <\/p>\n

Dig deeper:<\/p>\n

As a Hispanic leader in a diverse region like Houston, Chief Dillehay embraces the responsibility of being someone young people can look up to.<\/p>\n

“Growing up as a young man, whether you want to or not, you want to look at someone that’s a reflection of you,” Dillehay said. “It’s very important that the youth in this neighborhood\u2014and around the nation\u2014see folks like me and you in these positions, to let them know: ‘Hey, we come from similar environments, and you can make it too.'”<\/p>\n

He also stresses the importance of honoring those who paved the way.<\/p>\n

“You want to pay homage to those who came before you, who went through the struggles and fought for the rights so that I could stand here as fire chief today.”<\/p>\n

Changing the narrative <\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges faced by blue-collar neighborhoods, Dillehay is determined to uplift East Aldine and challenge harmful stereotypes.<\/p>\n

“I often feel that communities like this get stereotyped in a negative way,” Dillehay said. “One incident or a small group of people who aren’t doing right does not speak for all of us who are trying to uplift the community.”<\/p>\n

He hopes the public sees the true heart of the neighborhood he serves every day.<\/p>\n

“It takes a village,” Dillehay said. “I just want to say to the general public\u2014there are a lot of good, hardworking people here.”<\/p>\n

The Source: The Westfield Fire Department and Chief Dillehay.<\/p>\n

Hispanic Heritage Month<\/a>Houston<\/a>Top Stories<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON – In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, FOX 26 is spotlighting local figures making a profound impact…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":438310,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[4945,56,58,57,223,2053,216,393],"class_list":["post-438309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-hispanic-heritage","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-news","tag-top-stories","tag-tx","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/438310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}