Texas flooding: Austin fire chief accused of denying deployment of firefighters to Kerrville
'No confidence' vote to be taken on Austin Fire Chief
The Austin Firefighter Association met to decide if they will have a vote of "no confidence" for Austin Fire Chief Joel Baker. The AFA believes Chief Baker kept Austin firefighters from deploying to Kerrville to help with flood rescues
AUSTIN, Texas - Austin Fire Chief Joel G. Baker has been accused of denying the deployment of Austin firefighters to help in Kerrville following the recent devastating flooding.
The Austin Firefighters Association posted about Baker on their Facebook page, calling it "absolutely outrageous" and an "egregious dereliction of duty" and calling for Baker to be held accountable.
AFA says that on Tuesday, July 8, Austin firefighters plan to start a vote of no confidence on Baker.
The accusation
What they're saying:
On Monday, July 7, AFA posted to Facebook:
"It brings the Austin Firefighters no pleasure to report to the community that the Austin Fire Chief DENIED the deployment of Austin firefighters to Kerrville until very late into the event (so today!), with the exception of only 3 AFD rescue swimmers who helped staff helo teams (which still were NOT deployed until the afternoon of the 4th).
"The Austin Firefighter Special Operations teams are specially trained for Hill Country swift water rescue and are some of the best, if not the best, swift water boat teams in the State of Texas.
"It is absolutely outrageous that the Austin Fire Chief, Joel G. Baker, would not allow highly trained firefighters from Austin to respond to Kerrville. Because of this egregious dereliction of duty, LIVES WERE VERY LIKELY LOST BECAUSE OF CHIEF BAKER’S DECISION!
"Deployment orders came down from the State of Texas on July 2. We would've been pre-deployed before the waters even began to rise!
"It is unforgivable that a fire chief would NOT allow his firefighters to answer the call to save lives.
"Why would Fire Chief Joel G. Baker do this, you may ask? It was a misguided attempt to save money. I say "misguided" because the fire department is fully reimbursed by the state to deploy. I explained the reimbursement process to Chief Baker last week, and he failed to understand this very simple concept.
"We are disgusted with our fire chief. He needs to be held accountable and fired for his disgraceful dereliction of duty.
"The Austin Firefighters are starting a vote of no confidence on Tuesday on the fire chief.
"As disgusted as we are at our Austin Fire Department leadership, the Austin Firefighters Association made a decision to not air our dirty laundry while victims and bodies were still being recovered. But it's now July 7, and it's time that we hold accountable our disgraced fire chief, AND anybody else in his leadership circle who are responsible for this horrendous act.
"The Austin Firefighters commit to being transparent to the community about this process to remove our fire chief and hold all of those accountable who were part of this atrocity.
"The firefighters hope we have your support, because it's going to get ugly.
"I can't possibly express to you how outraged and sickened the firefighters are that we were not allowed to do the job—the job that we have trained so hard and long to do—during the historic floods that just occurred in Kerrville. We could've made a difference, and we were forced to stand down and lives were lost.
"The community deserves a fire chief who cares about the community as much as our firefighters, and that is simply not the case. Joel G. Baker must go!"
What's next:
AFA is expected to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. on July 8 about the vote.
AFD response
The other side:
The Austin Fire Department responded to the accusation with a statement, saying:
"The weather this weekend devastated the entire region, and the Austin Fire Department is proud to be part of the response effort.
"The decision about how to allocate resources to help our fellow Texans is not a simple one. It requires communication from public safety partners on the ground to ensure we are providing resources and personnel when, where and how they are most needed.
"The Austin Fire Department must also prioritize having sufficient resources in our own community given the unpredictability of this weekend's storms and the risk for catastrophic flooding in our immediate area.
"In an effort to strike that balance, AFD deployed three rescue swimmers on Friday, July 4 to serve with the Texas Task Force 1 helicopter search and rescue team (HSART) to perform water rescues in San Angelo, Kerrville and Seguin. On Saturday and Sunday, July 5 and 6, two crews, eight total fire personnel, and an AFD boat, were assigned to assist ESD 1 with search efforts at Cow Creek and Big Sandy Creek.
"An additional six personnel were deployed today, at approximately 9 a.m., to augment Texas Task Force 1 search and rescue efforts in the area.
"AFD is a strong public safety partner in our region. We will continue to live up to that reputation while maintaining adequate resources for those we serve in our City and neighboring communities."
AFD did not comment on the planned vote of no confidence for Chief Baker.
Austin City Manager's response
What they're saying:
Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax issued a statement on the accusations, saying:
"It is disappointing that the Firefighters Association would make these allegations and consider such a vote, especially while these communities continue to grieve and recover. It’s even more disheartening how quickly the Association’s claims spread because so many people are ready to place blame. The City of Austin, and the Austin Fire Department in particular, have a very long track record of supporting and sending aid to neighboring communities in need. To be clear, I continue to have confidence in Chief Baker and remain committed to listening and working with both the Chief and the Fire Association to ensure that the Austin Fire Department is able to continue supporting our neighbors while protecting our local community."
The latest on the floods
What we know:
As of 6:30 p.m. July 7, at least 104 people are dead as a result of the flooding in Central Texas. Most of those deaths happened in Kerr County, where at least 84 people have died, including 28 children.
At least 10 girls and a counselor from Camp Mystic are still missing.
Over the holiday weekend, officials say crews have been able to rescue more than 850 people.
LIVE UPDATES Texas flooding: More than 80 people dead, 10 girls still missing
The death toll from the July 4th weekend flooding in Central Texas stands at 82. Kerr County is reporting 68 deaths with at least 10 girls from Camp Mystic still missing.
In Travis County, there were at least seven deaths and about 10 people unaccounted for. There was also significant damage to infrastructure.
Burnet County has at least four dead and two people still missing,
Williamson County reports two deaths and one person still missing and Kendall and Tom Green counties each have at least one death confirmed.
The Source: Information in this report comes from the Austin Firefighters Association and previous reporting by FOX 7 Austin and FOX Television Stations.