Howard Haber joins American volunteer unit assisting Israeli firefighters during wartime wildfires

By Michael Sudhalter

When Benbrook Fire Department Shift Supervisor Howard Haber learned of an opportunity to battle forest fires in Israel in October 2024, he didn’t think twice about it.

“I have a strong connection, not only to the firefighters but to the people of Israel,” Haber said. “I wanted to represent my department to the best of my abilities.”

Haber, a 58-year-old Fort Worth native who graduated from R. L. Paschal High School and became a bar mitzvah at Congregation Ahavath Sholom in 1980, has 38 years of experience working as a firefighter.

He’s the son of Gloria Sepp, a Fort Worth artist and educator, and the late Dr. Julian Haber, who was a well-known pediatrician in Fort Worth for many years.

Two years ago, he learned about Emergency Volunteers Project (EVP), a nonprofit program in which American firefighters assist their Israeli counterparts. In 2024, it was especially helpful as there was a seven-front war.

The United States is the only nation that has firefighters willing to travel to Israel during wartime, said Haber.

A Parker County resident, Haber had never traveled overseas before he was assigned to the wildfires near Hadera in northern Israel.

“I probably fought more fires in two weeks than I do in a year here,” Haber said. “I learned that a fire department is a fire department is a fire department. 

“We may operate differently, but the brotherhood and the family of the fire service are the same all the way around the world.”

Haber, who is still a member of Ahavath Sholom, returned last October for a week of training in Haifa, including a 2 a.m. drill in the Carmel Tunnels.

While the unit was mostly busy fighting fires, members also had a chance to tour Jerusalem.

Most of the EVP firefighters are not Jewish, but helping in Israel is very special to Haber, who was born during the same month as the Six-Day War.

“I’m pretty spiritual,” Haber said. “I don’t know if I’m overly religious, but spiritually I feel very connected, and I’m proud to be Jewish.”

Haber and his twin brother, Jonathan, grew up watching the 1970s television show “Emergency!”

“It inspired a lot of firefighters in my generation,” Haber said.

Jonathan went on to become a police chief in Dallas County and now works as a police officer in Port Aransas on the Gulf Coast.

For Howard Haber, it’s always been about firefighting.

He trained at a fire academy in North Richland Hills not long after high school.

Haber’s first full-time job in the fire service was in the small city of Ranger, 85 miles west of Fort Worth, in 1988. He was one of two firefighters in the Eastland County community.

Two years later, Haber moved to a slightly larger department in Hillsboro, 56 miles south of Fort Worth. He worked there for 11 years before joining the Benbrook Fire Department.

In 2001, Haber became a paramedic with Benbrook.

“Working for the Fire Department is the best job in the world,” Haber said. “I really enjoy helping people, helping the community and being part of a team.”

Haber said he plans to work another three years before retirement. Before then, he is working on training his successors.

“I want to share, generation to generation, to make sure they can take the next step and pass the torch,” Haber said. “I grew up in the fire service when firefighters didn’t mentor. They were afraid someone would take their job. Mentoring means we’re doing our job as leaders. I like teaching at the fire academy as it gives me a fresh perspective.”

Haber is also grateful that fire departments — and public safety in general — take mental health more seriously.

Haber, the father of two sons in their 20s, is engaged to be married to his fiancée, Jamie Wise, at Ahavath Sholom later this month.

Wise recently converted to Judaism at Ahavath Sholom, and the couple will travel to Israel for their honeymoon. 

It will be Haber’s first visit to the country as a tourist.