The Austin Firefighters Association
announced
on July 11 that it voted no confidence in Austin Fire Chief Joel Baker over concerns about his response to the floods in Kerrville, Texas.
According to a news release from the association, 93% of the association
voted
no confidence in Baker after he refused to deploy Austin firefighters to Kerrville until very late into the event due to financial reasons.
“It is absolutely outrageous that the Austin Fire Chief, Joel G. Baker, would not allow highly trained firefighters from Austin to respond to Kerrville,” the association wrote in an Instagram post. “Because of this egregious dereliction of duty, lives were very likely lost.”
The Austin Firefighters Association wrote in the post that Baker needs to be held accountable for this decision, which it claimed was a “misguided attempt to save money.”
“I say ‘misguided’ because the fire department is fully reimbursed by the state to deploy,” association president Bob Nicks wrote in the post. “I explained the reimbursement process to Chief Baker last week, and he failed to understand this very simple concept.”
Emails obtained by the
Austin American-Statesman
show that Baker “suspended emergency deployments” in late May or early June to save money as the city of Austin faces a budget deficit.
Baker deployed three Austin Fire Department rescue swimmers the afternoon of July 4, who provided aid during the flooding, according to the Austin Firefighters Association.
Mayor Kirk Watson disagreed with the response from the Austin Firefighters Association to Baker’s decision. He wrote in a statement that he supported Baker and was “disappointed” in Nicks, for “politicizing this horrible loss.”
“Unlike Bob, I actually talked to Chief Nim Kidd, the Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, over the weekend,” Watson wrote. “In one of our talks, I asked Chief Kidd if he was getting all he needed from Austin and if there was anything else he needed. He characterized Austin’s response as ‘above and beyond.’”
Despite the vote, Baker continues to serve in his position and does not plan to leave, according to the
Austin American-Statesman
.
“
Chief Baker remains focused on the task of running the department and keeping the City safe,” said Tara Long, an Austin Fire Department spokesperson, in an email.
