The Austin Firefighters Union overwhelmingly approved a vote of no-confidence in the fire chief Friday over a policy that members said prevented first responders from helping out ahead of the historic Hill Country floods.
Ninety-three percent of the 993 union members supported the resolution.
Earlier this week, union president Bob Nicks slammed Chief Joel Baker’s policy that paused deployments of Austin firefighters to disasters for budgetary reasons. He said the policy led to a delay in personnel getting sent to Kerr County before the flooding on July Fourth.
Nicks said the department turned down requests for service on July 2 and 3 and that AFD could have helped saved lives.
Baker said he was unaware of any requests for service ahead of the floods and defended the department’s response. Both Mayor Kirk Watson and City Manager T.C. Broadnax, who could fire Baker, have said they support his response to the floods.
The department ended up sending firefighters to Kerrville on the afternoon of July Fourth.
In a statement after the vote, Nicks called for an investigation into Baker’s policies and the department’s response.
“Let me be clear, the leadership failed the community when it was needed the most,” Nicks said. “This isn’t about politics, it’s about accountability.”
Broadnax said it was “disappointing” that the union approved the measure and doubled-down on his support for the chief.
“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,” he said in a statement.
Nicks reiterated that the decision to hold the no-confidence vote was based purely on the chief's response.
Baker, the city’s first Black fire chief, was the target this week of conservative media outlets that accused him of being a “DEI hire,” stoking racist attacks against him online.
