When tragedy struck Kerrville, Texas, swift water rescue teams could have made the difference between life and death. But thanks to Austin’s DEI-obsessed Fire Chief, they never got the chance.
Austin Fire Chief Joel Baker, celebrated by city leaders as the capital’s first Black fire chief and praised for pushing “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in hiring, is now facing a vote of no confidence from his own firefighters. And the reason is both infuriating and heartbreaking.
According to the Austin Firefighters Association, Chief Baker refused to pre-deploy rescue teams to Kerrville in the days leading up to the historic flooding—despite official state deployment orders arriving as early as July 2. The excuse? He wanted to “save money.”
Video:
BREAKING: President of Austin Fire Association says Austin Fire Chief DENIED pre-deployment to Kerrville before the flood, No Confidence Vote planned pic.twitter.com/A6dxG1eTps
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) July 8, 2025
But here’s the kicker: Texas fully reimburses departments for these emergency deployments. There would’ve been no cost to Austin taxpayers.
“I explained the reimbursement process to Chief Baker last week,” the union said, “and he failed to understand this very simple concept.” That failure likely cost lives.
Let’s be clear: Austin’s Special Operations Firefighters are among the best swift water rescue teams in the state. These are the men and women who train specifically for Hill Country disasters like this. But instead of getting the green light to save lives, they were told to stand down.
Meanwhile, Chief Baker has focused on prioritizing diversity metrics, firing the department chaplain over views on gender sports, and chasing woke headlines. And when real lives were on the line? He was missing in action.
As the death toll rises, so does the outrage. The union’s vote of no confidence starts July 8, and they’re not pulling punches: “Joel G. Baker must go.”
DEI hires lives on paper. In real disasters, it kills.
