Texas Fire Chief Denied Deployment of Emergency Crews Ahead of Deadly Floods: Report

A Texas fire chief initially refused to deploy emergency crews during the deadly flash floods that struck Kerr County early on July 4, reportedly prioritizing cost-cutting over public safety.

The Austin Firefighters Association called for the dismissal of Fire Chief Joel G. Baker, citing his refusal to authorize the deployment of the Austin Fire Department's Special Operations teams, which are trained in swift water rescue, until Monday. The decision to finally send out rescue teams came after at least 91 people, including 28 children, died in the deadly floods, with dozens still missing.

"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 Austin Firefighters Association wrote in a Facebook post. "Because of this egregious dereliction of duty, LIVES WERE VERY LIKELY LOST BECAUSE OF CHIEF BAKER'S DECISION!"

The association stated orders from the Texas government came down on July 2, meaning the specialized unit "would've been pre-deployed before the waters even began to rise," a decision they called "unforgivable."

"Why would Fire Chief Joel G. Baker do this, you may ask? It was a misguided attempt to save money," the post continued. "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."

The group added that they are "disgusted" with Baker before adding that he needs to "be held accountable and fired for his disgraceful dereliction of duty." They revealed they will start a vote of no confidence in the chief on Tuesday.

"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 post continued before adding they hope they have community members' 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 post continued, adding, "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!"

Baker served as a firefighter in Atlanta for 30 years before retiring in February 2018. That December, he was appointed as Austin's fire chief, according to his LinkedIn profile.