LESS CAPABILITY. MORE COST. LESS TRANSPARENCY. On April 7th, the City moved forward with a $350,000 Squad 1 purchase while shutting down a fully capable, paid-for Engine 1 that is only about five years old.
During the presentation, Chief Brown cited other departments — including Arlington and Euless — as justification for this change.
But those comparisons don’t hold up.
Departments like Arlington use squads as additional resources alongside fully staffed engine and truck companies — not as replacements for them.
Euless didn’t replace an existing fire company either — they added a squad to enhance their response capability.
Chief Brown also stated the Squad 1 concept was mutually agreed upon by operations personnel.
It was not.
Your firefighters were not brought in as equal participants in a collaborative solution. They were presented with an alternative under the understanding that this change was moving forward regardless of their objections.
At the last local meeting, membership voted 52–1 against the closure of Engine 1.
That is not collaboration. That is clear opposition.
What was approved here is fundamentally different.
This plan removes a staffed, all-hazards engine company and replaces it with a less capable unit. It also permanently removes the fourth firefighter from Truck 1 — reducing manpower on critical incidents — despite clear opposition from the citizens it impacts.
And here’s what makes this even more concerning:
This plan increases minimum staffing to 27.
If minimum staffing were set at 28, Engine 1 could remain in service and a fourth medic unit could be staffed full time.
The staffing is there. The capability is there.
This was a choice.
What happened on April 7th was not transparency.
Residents spoke up. Emails were sent. Calls and texts were made. Concerns were voiced.
And despite all of that — the City moved forward anyway.
Every member of council voted to approve this, except Councilwoman O’Dell.
Let that sink in.
Your concerns were heard… and ignored.
This wasn’t a misunderstanding. It wasn’t a lack of communication.
It was a decision — made in the face of public opposition.
Our firefighters will still answer the call. We will still show up when you need us. That will never change.
But citizens deserve to understand what happened:
City leadership chose to spend more money on a less capable model while eliminating a proven, fully staffed engine company that was already paid for.
This is what local government looks like when decisions are made first and public input is treated as an obstacle instead of a responsibility.
Remember that.
