Austin fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr responded to the censure she received Thursday night from the city’s firefighter union by saying her department’s employees have been “seriously misinformed.”
In a statement, Kerr said Bob Nicks, the president of the Austin chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters, embarked on a “one-sided misleading personal vendetta” that has damaged conversations about how to keep firefighters healthy and safe.
On Thursday night, out of the 563 Austin firefighters who voted, 490 approved the measure to censure Kerr. The censure is partly symbolic — it doesn’t put anything in her personnel file, but the International Association of Fire Fighters could vote at its convention next month to support the Austin chapter’s vote to censure. Kerr refused, in her statement, to apologize for “having high standards, holding the work force accountable, and making sure they’re fit to do their job.”
The firefighters’ vote listed four grievances, one of which dealt with a policy they said Kerr is considering adopting to require that all firefighters and fire officials, including those working desk jobs, be physically qualified to work at a fire scene.