will and grace

Meet the heroic Houston firefighter blazing a trail in this year's smoke show pinup calendar

Tara Grace Houston Fire Fighters Calendar 2022

Photo courtesy of Tara Grace

The Houston Fire Fighters Calendar is back and there’s a twist for the first time: female heroes are mixed in with the expected shirtless, greased-up, muscle-bulging, beefcake guys.

Tara Grace, 45, adorns the month of December. She is an active fire fighter, a 19-year veteran of the Houston Fire Department, assigned to Station 42 near the Ship Channel. This is her first experience as a calendar girl.

The 2023 Houston Fire Fighters Calendar is available for $35 — plus $6 for shipping — online. The calendar was produced by the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association Charitable Foundation, benefitting the its Burned Children’s initiative.

We caught up with “TARA FIREFIGHTER” as she’s billed on the calendar. Grace is pictured wearing a relatively modest red tank top and regulation tan fire fighter pants. She is holding a cat.

CultureMap: Seriously, when was the last time you climbed a tree to rescue a cat? Is that even a thing for fire fighters anymore?

Tara Grace: Not necessarily climbed a tree to get a cat down, but we actually do rescue animals that are trapped inside a house fire pretty frequently.

I’ve rescued several dogs over the past couple of years. One of the things that is cool about the calendar is we have some rescue animals in a few of the photos. I think that’s awesome. I was glad to do that part.

CultureMap: What attracted you to become a fire fighter?

TG: I heard about it while I was a personal trainer in a health club. It always interested me. I didn’t have any family members who were in the fire department or anything like that. I had always heard more about female cops than fire fighters.

I met some folks during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo that introduced me to some female fire fighters. I just stepped out and gave it a whirl. It was a challenge and I absolutely loved that part of it.

CultureMap: Did you have to audition for the calendar or did somebody just say you’re going to be the December model?

TG: I did have to audition and that was more nerve wracking than doing the photo shoot. You’re in front of your peers, a formal selection committee. If you’re not used to that, it’s a very strange experience. It’s more than just trying to look cute.

CultureMap: You’re not wearing a bikini or posed in a sexually provocative position. Was that on purpose?

TG: We wanted to show that there are female fire fighters and we are strong. We’re also a limited number. We are less than three percent of the fire fighters in Houston. It’s important that we are represented in the calendar this time.

I like my photo. We were in a house that actually just burned down a week prior to my photos so it was a really cool setting. Plus, I’m proud that the calendar raises awareness of the burn children.

CultureMap: Do fire fighters really slide down poles?

TG: I have done that. I slid down one a couple of weeks ago when I was at Station 20. But they don’t make stations anymore with poles.

CultureMap: How often do you respond to a fire?

TG: It’s pretty regular. We answer for a lot of car fires and truck fires. There are warehouses by my station. We also have a neighborhood. One recent day, we had two car fires and one house fire. So, it’s hit or miss.

CultureMap: Do fire fighters sleep at the station? What is your schedule like?

TG: We all sleep in the dorm together like one big, happy family. It’s like a night out camping. I’m camping with the dudes. It’s a minimum of two 24-hour shifts a week. We work 6:30 am to 6:30 am shifts. The city is short on staffing right now so sometimes we work three days in a row.

CultureMap: Are fire fighters really great cooks? How would you rate yourself?

TG: You can ask the guys in my station: I believe that a few of us have some magic cooking skills for sure. Like last night, I made beef teriyaki with vegetables and Jasmine rice and vegetable egg rolls.

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Support the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association Charitable Foundation and its Burned Children’s initiative by purchasing the 2023 Houston Fire Fighters Calendar online.

Contact Ken at ken@culturemap.com.

Camp Mystic News

Camp Mystic proposes selling property as part of bankruptcy plan

Camp Mystic Files For Bankruptcy As First Anniversary Of Deadly Floods Approaches

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Ribbons honor Camp Mystic flood victims and families.

The owners of Camp Mystic have proposed selling off the riverfront property as part of a bankruptcy plan, with hopes that a buyer will preserve the camp's “historic mission” following the death of 27 campers and counselors swept away by a 2025 flood.

The century-old private Christian girls' camp filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan on September 25 that would auction off the 749 acres (3 square kilometers) it owns and other assets.

The sprawling campus, nestled among rolling wooded hills on the banks of the Guadalupe River, had several single-story cabins that housed some of the youngest campers and a recreation hall near the riverfront. A second campus on elevated ground was not flooded.

The Eastland family has owned the camp for decades and initially sought to reopen this summer. But they faced fierce opposition from victims’ families and some state lawmakers, lawsuits, and legislative investigations into what went wrong.

A buyer would likely get a portion of the camp frozen in time. Families of the victims have fought to stop any demolition of damaged cabins and buildings and stop repairs as part of their lawsuits.

The bankruptcy plan said the owners expect a purchaser would be backed by a group of families that support the camp.

“Nothing in the plan requires any buyer to operate the property as a camp,” the filing said, “but the plan states an express preference, in determining the highest or otherwise best bid, for a buyer that will maintain the historic mission of the camp.”

Twenty-five campers and two counselors were killed when the river surged over its banks in the pre-dawn hours of July 4, 2025. Camp owner and director Richard Eastland was also killed. At least 136 people were killed along a several-mile stretch of the river.

Earlier this month, state police investigators sought search warrants for the electronic communications of the camp's owners, saying they could provide evidence of manslaughter, negligent homicide, child abandonment, or other crimes.

No charges have been brought.

A probe by state lawmakers determined the camp’s young and inexperienced counselors were not trained for floods and other emergencies. It said an earlier decision to evacuate could have saved every life. Most of the victims were under age 10, and some were attending camp for the first time.

The camp's bankruptcy proposal would have to be approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher M. Lopez. Officials with Camp Mystic did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Monday.

All creditors, including the families who have sued Camp Mystic over the deaths, will have a chance to respond to the plan.

“The Eastlands are now attempting to determine the future of the Camp Mystic property, but the victims' families including my clients, will fight to protect their rights and ensure any sale is fair and transparent,” said Tim Ferguson, attorney for the family of 8-year-old Mary Grace Baker, one of the campers who died.

“The Bakers intend to continue fighting for answers, accountability and justice for their daughter,” Ferguson said.

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