Austin Fire Chief defends response after accusations of delaying help for Kerr County flooding

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Fire Chief insists his department is doing everything it can to respond to deadly flooding in Kerr County after firefighters accused him of actions that delayed deployment of specialized search and rescue crews.

Chief Joel G. Baker responded to the accusations made in a social media post by the Austin Firefighters Association, which claimed that highly trained first responders from Austin were not allowed to respond. The post called the chief's actions an "egregious dereliction of duty," and the association announced it would meet on Tuesday to discuss whether to take a vote of “no confidence” in Baker.

The association's president, Bob Nicks, claimed the state requested assistance from the Austin Fire Department (AFD) special operations teams more than a day before floodwaters rushed from the Guadalupe River early July 4.

In an interview Monday night, Chief Baker refuted the claims, saying he was first made aware of requests from the state on July 4 and AFD deployed three rescue swimmers to the disaster area.

Nicks maintains that earlier deployment could have saved lives.

Kerr County officials had confirmed 84 deaths Monday evening, as search and rescue efforts continued for those who were still missing.

Nicks said AFD’s teams are specially trained for Hill Country swift water rescues, and they routinely deploy at the state's request, as a part of a large mutual aid network during disasters. However, a recent order from AFD leadership to temporarily stop deployments prevented some crews from responding.

“We were the best rescue team in the best position to help those little girls,” said Nicks, referencing campers and counselors at Camp Mystic in Kerr County. “Before the moratorium, this was a routine request, and we would have deployed.”

AFD’s response

Chief Baker told KXAN he was made aware on July 4 of three requests for deployment: One for an assistant chief who chose not to go. One for a dispatcher, which was denied. And one for rescue swimmers, who were deployed. The chief explained his reasoning.

"It's important that we are able to function and maintain a certain level of readiness in the city of Austin. Now, to keep in mind -- again -- I was not sure how much of the weather would impact my city -- the city of Austin. I need to make sure that I have an adequate amount of resources within the city so I can respond for my mutual aid calls and my automatic aid calls around the city of Austin," Chief Baker said.

He went on to say that local crews should not "self-dispatch" during disasters but rather work within the guidelines laid out by the state through Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX).

KXAN has asked the Texas Division of Emergency Management for clarity about what the state requested of AFD -- and when. We will update this article when we get a response.

Baker added that the department sent eight members and a boat team to aid Travis County Emergency Services District 1 on July 5 and 6, as flooding hit parts of that county and recovery efforts expanded in Central Texas.

"We are going to continue to support disasters of this nature. That's going on right now until we are no longer needed. It's a long process. We will continue to send people. We will continue to rotate crews. But I'm telling you, I'm obligated to make sure that the residents, the citizens of Austin, is also protected," the chief said.

When KXAN investigators asked whether Baker felt AFD had done everything it could to respond in Central Texas, Baker said, "Absolutely."

Previous “standing order”

Nicks, meanwhile, told KXAN he is aware of some AFD personnel who were contacted by the state on July 2, but those personnel turned down the request to deploy due to a previous "standing order" from leadership, sent through email. KXAN reviewed the email, which was dated June 6 and sent from an AFD Division Chief of Homeland Security and Special Operations. The email said the department was suspending deployments through October 1.

It stated, "The City is facing a budget crisis, and there is currently something like $800,000 in outstanding reimbursements owed to AFD by the State of Texas.  The City wants to make sure this money is reimbursed before the end of the fiscal year, and does not want to be in a situation where additional money is expended on deployments and is not recouped before the end of the fiscal year."

When KXAN asked Baker about the email, he said he gave the order for a temporary halt on deployments while the department worked through “internal issues” related to state reimbursements for deployment requests. He said the issue was not the fault of AFD’s partners at the state, who he said has “done an outstanding job in assisting us in receiving those funds in a timely [manner].” He noted that the state does not currently owe AFD any reimbursements, to his knowledge.

Regarding the email, Baker explained, "I said, 'We have to do a better job in our reimbursement.' So, to change the behaviors of our members. I said, 'No more deployment until we start again reimbursing the entire amount.' Now think about it, once I made that comment, it's amazing how quickly we start back getting reimbursed. So that let me know that it's not on the state of Texas. There was some internal, possible internal effort on our part. Nothing negative at all against those firefighters who go on deployment."

And Baker insisted that budget challenges had “nothing” to do with his decisions

“I'm not saying it's the fault of the firefighter from Austin. I'm not saying it’s the fault of the state. We had to work on our own internal issues, on how we get reimbursed. It was a collaborative effort between the state and Austin Fire Department and we have resolved those matters… I'm telling you and the viewers, it has nothing to do with budget challenges and issues.”

Baker said he believes the email caused confusion and acknowledged this was a learning experience for future communications between himself and other department leaders.

"Because words matter. What the memo should have said, or what the email should have said is, ‘Based on a case-by-case basis,’" he said. "So, when an emergency like this takes place, or something like this larger disaster takes place, then it's not, 'We're not going to send anyone.' We're going to send them but let us evaluate what we're sending."

Nicks, however, said Baker’s explanation seemed disingenuous and claimed it took external pressure for crews to finally be able to deploy.

"The notion that a department of our size can’t send a few boat crews is ludicrous,” Nicks said, insisting the department had enough resources locally to send more to Kerrville, as they have in other disasters.

“We made a promise to go, and we said ‘No,’” Nicks said.

The association plans to hold a meeting and press conference regarding any vote of no confidence at 11 a.m. on Tuesday. KXAN will update this article with any details.