By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- The Grapevine Professional Firefighters Association, Local 3113, announced Aug. 14 that its members voted overwhelmingly no confidence in Fire Chief Darrell Brown and two assistant chiefs.
- Nearly 94% of union members voted no confidence in Brown; Assistant Chief Wes Williams received an 87.9% no-confidence vote and Assistant Chief Stuart Grant received 82.2%.
- The union cited concerns over staffing, fire response capabilities, communication and morale following a department reallocation that shut down an engine company and replaced it with a two-firefighter EMS-focused squad truck.
- Grapevine City Manager Bruno Rumbelow defended department leadership in a statement, calling the union’s public criticism unconstructive and unprofessional.
- The no-confidence vote carries no official bearing on the chiefs’ employment status.
GRAPEVINE, Texas — The Grapevine Professional Firefighters Association announced Aug. 14 that its members voted overwhelmingly no confidence in Fire Chief Darrell Brown and two assistant chiefs, escalating a dispute with department leadership over a shift toward EMS-focused operations.
According to the union, Local 3113, 94% of members voted no confidence in Brown, while Assistant Chief Wes Williams received an 87.9% no-confidence vote and Assistant Chief Stuart Grant received 82.2%. The vote carries no official bearing on the chiefs’ employment status, but the union said it documents members’ lack of confidence in department leadership.
The vote follows a department reallocation plan that decommissioned Engine 1 and replaced it with a squad truck staffed by two firefighters. The union said the change reduces personnel and equipment available to fight fires before an engine company arrives, raising concerns about response capability at high-traffic locations including Grapevine Mills, area hotels, entertainment venues and schools.
In a statement, the association said members have raised concerns for two years about department leadership, communication, transparency and decision-making, and that many of those concerns “have not been adequately addressed.” The union also said some members’ employment has been affected by what it described as documented threats and intimidation tied to disagreements with leadership decisions. Its rationale document cited concerns including centralized decision-making among a small executive group, inconsistent use of data, and reduced frontline fire-response capability without a transparent risk analysis.
Grapevine City Manager Bruno Rumbelow defended department leadership in a statement posted to the city’s Facebook page, saying public safety remains a top city priority. Rumbelow said union members’ public criticism of the chief was “not constructive” and did not reflect the professionalism he expects from department personnel, adding that leadership requires making difficult decisions about staffing, equipment and resources that will not always be popular.
A city spokesperson said the statement represents Grapevine’s complete response and that no additional information would be provided.