Houston mattress store that housed hundreds in severe winter weather debuts high-water rescue truck
Houston’s Mattress Mack debuts rescue vehicle with start of hurricane season
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Houston’s Mattress Mack, the furniture seller who opened his doors to hundreds of displaced Texas residents when severe weather froze the region last winter, debuted a high-water rescue truck this week, according to local reports.
"We’re here to benefit the community. That’s what we’ve always done, and we have a responsibility for the well-being of the community. We’re trying to live up to that," Jim "Mack" McIngvale told "Fox & Friends" in February.
The freak weather incident left millions of people without power as temperatures plummeted below freezing – and the estimated death toll surpassed 100.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
In this Feb. 17, 2021, file photo, owner Jim McIngvale talks about opening his Gallery Furniture store as a shelter in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
Now, with a high-water rescue vehicle, he can help even more.
MATTRESS MACK PROVIDES SHELTER TO HUNDREDS OF TEXANS LEFT WITHOUT POWER FROM WINTER STORM
"If we have any other problems in Houston, we can go rescue people and bring them to Gallery Furniture," he told the Houston-based ABC 13. "I don't know if I'm man enough to drive it, but someone can drive it and I'll sit there and ride in the back with all the folks."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The truck is capable of driving through water up to 55 inches deep. The side of the black-painted bed includes a portrait of McIngvale and the phrase "Mattress Mack has got your back."
"We have a responsibility for the well-being of our community," he told the station. "And this truck will help us fulfill that commitment."
The McIngvale family is well known in Houston. In addition to raising funds for charity and gambling huge sums on high-profile sporting events, Mack’s wife, Linda McIngvale, even played a role in helping find the missing tiger that terrorized Houston for more than a week last month, according to FOX 26.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
THIS THANKSGIVING, HOUSTON'S HURRICANE HARVEY HERO, MATTRESS MACK, TO FEED THOUSANDS
The family even threw a Thanksgiving party for more than 4,000 people in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.
Mack, who shares daily Bible verses to Twitter and has been known for charity work for years, uses a portion of his proceeds at Gallery Furniture to fund what he calls "community efforts."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"Building a strong community is a passion of Mattress Mack’s which is why he has built a high school, an adult trade school and a childcare center at Gallery Furniture that is absolutely free to students and employees," according to the store’s website. "These efforts by Mattress Mack and Gallery Furniture, plus all past and future outreach initiatives, are made possible by our wonderful Gallery Furniture customers."