So, re: Chief Baker ... I'm not gonna pretend to know what all went down in regard to his decision to not send swiftwater rescue resources to to Kerrville. And I don't particularly care to find out. But I can assure you it's not the slam dunk negligence that some including Charlie Kirk or some of my brothers and/or sisters at the AFL-CIO Local are making it out to be. I have my doubts it was even the wrong decision.
For the folks saying Chief Baker was wrong to keep AFD resources here rather than ~100 miles away with severe weather incoming, you have to remember that Austin has its own severe flooding issues, and our closer neighbors also rely on us to help them out. It's not simple. Not ever.
We don't have unlimited swiftwater rescue resources. Far from it. We have a handful of boats, and they get worked overtime in every heavy rain event in Austin and the surrounding area. And every time one of those boats leaves the station, the crew and the truck go with it. Thus, they are out of service for typical responses and leave a hole in the city's coverage.
Had Kerrville, Kerr County, and the State lived up to their responsibilites, the disaster could have been averted, or at the very minimum, the human toll could have been drastically reduced.
Period.
Trying to put this on a Fire Chief close to 2 hours away is some astronomically stupid bullshit, esp in light of the incredible idiocy that went down out in Kerr County. But, of course, I understand that as a good little Nazi, that's his job, so that's what that POS is gonna do.