Persse, who led Houston EMS for nearly 30 years and helped shape the department’s emergency medicine practices, died from a severe spinal injury sustained while swimming off Hermosa Beach, Calif.

HOUSTON — Dr. David Persse, the former Houston chief medical officer, has died at age 66, according to a statement from the Houston Fire Department.

The department said in a Facebook post that Persse sustained a severe spinal injury while swimming off Hermosa Beach, California, on Sept. 26. Fire officials said he was pulled from the water and resuscitated by bystanders before being hospitalized. He later died from his injuries.

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For more than 30 years, Dr. Persse dedicated his life to serving the City of Houston, including 29 years as the fire department’s EMS physician director. A pioneer in emergency medicine, his leadership helped shape Houston EMS and advance patient care, while his teaching and mentorship influenced generations of physicians, firefighters, paramedics and EMTs. He began his tenure as Houston’s EMS leader in 1996.

“Dr. Persse was a pioneer whose impact on the Houston Fire Department cannot be overstated,” Fire Chief Thomas Muñoz said. “For more than 30 years, he helped shape the way our firefighters and paramedics care for people on the worst days of their lives. He challenged us to be better, pushed EMS forward and never lost sight of the people behind the medicine. But to generations of HFD members, he was also a teacher, a mentor and a trusted friend. His legacy isn’t just found in the programs he helped build, but in the thousands of HFD members he taught and the countless patients who received better care because of his life’s work. Houston is safer because Dr. Persse was here, and his influence will be felt in this department for generations to come. We will miss him tremendously.”

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