If you have read George Orwell’s well-known dystopian novel, Nineteen Eight-Four (1984), then you may remember the opening line, “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” Have you ever wondered, what does it mean? If you thought it referred to military time, you are incorrect. References to a thirteenth stroke of the clock indicate that some event or discovery calls into questions everything previously believed. In other words, the thirteenth stroke of the clock calls in question not only the credibility of itself but the previous twelve strokes.
For Orwell the key was “clocks” referring to more than one, so we must believe he was referring to all the clocks in the world. It was Orwell subtle way to tell the reader that statements of truth in a fictional society should always be called into question. The proverb puts forth the notion that if just one of someone’s proclamations or statements is wrong, or something in a process is wrong, then the correctness, accuracy and truth of all the previous proclamations, statements and steps in a process need to be called into question.
What does the “Thirteenth Stroke of the Clock” have to do with Frisco Fire Department? In a 13 Stroke attempt the city wants you to believe Glover is just the phenomenal department head who has transitioned all the negative out of the FD and things are just peachy now. In their own attempt at the “Thirteenth Storke of the Clock,” on video in their own words, we have Mayor Jeff Cheney – lying, Butt Hurt Bill Woodard – lying, Angelia Pelham – lying, and Mr. Valor John Cheating Keating – lying!
The most recent In-Service Meeting notes are no different than the 2011 Climate Report and all of that falls on the city, former city manager George Purefoy, the mayor and council and our newest tool – Wes Pierson. You might think “that can’t be that much more left,” to uncover, but you would be wrong! In 2012 when the city went outside the department to hire (Mark Piland) that was a thorn in Lee Glovers’ side because in his mind he was always the successor to Mack Borchardt. For ten years Glover had to watch a new Fire Chief, who could have cleaned house and fired him – but didn’t do the job he felt he was owed and deserved.
In fact, the In-Service notes state that repeatedly “Glover would talk shit about the department at lunch, would brag about retiring, and not caring about the job,” but now he is the new Fire Chief. The notes also say that some of the firefighters feel that they have seen their former Fire Chief Mark Piland more since he retired than they have Glover, since he took the position as the new Fire Chief. The most damming statement of all in the report, “We have managers and leaders. Leaders we would follow to the end of our career. The Fire Chief (Lee Glover) is NOT a leader!”
During the recent election cycles, the Mayor and City Council members all talked about how they valued our firefighters, as they treated them crap calling them lazy, greedy, and master manipulators / liars. What do you think the result of that election was? Well according to the notes “The PAC (run by Bill Woodard, funded by Cheney’s big developer friends) drug the name of the Frisco FD through the mud, damaging their image and trust with citizens.” It goes on to say the secretly backed by the city PAC, “made poor judgement decisions using social media, and they crossed the line making attacks extremely personal and not about the issues. The city blurred the lines of politics by backdoor financing the political PAC, and the FD has lost complete trust in City Hall and the Council.” Even further manipulation was when the Frisco Chamber of Commerce, who likes to play they are independent, but receives hundreds of thousands of dollars from the city, cut off the voices of the firefighters at their forum has left the FD with a very bad taste and lack of trust. “We don’t trust them, and they don’t trust us!”
When it comes to the City Manager, Wes Pierson the in-service notes said they don’t trust him or his judgement. Goes on to say since taking over in this city he has been dismissive, divisive, flat our ignored them, refuses to meet with them, and has been condescending to members of the FD fracturing a future relationship.
The city wants you to believe they have done everything, given everything, spend ½ the annual budget for public safety and that the firefighters are just lazy! Yet the city is running out of people to blame it on, and we have caught them boldly lying about Glover which means we now have to question everything else they have said in the past. The lies are on tape! Actual video evidence in their own words, LYING to citizens. We fully understand now why the FD has a lack of trust with the FD management, City Manager and Mayor + council.
Staffing is the biggest issue that was brought up over-and-over from the 2011 Climate Report to today. This is the biggest tipping point: 3-person truck or 4-person truck. It makes me wonder why firefighters would be fighting so hard for staffing if it was not a problem. We found a 5-year Strategic Staffing plan in one of the PIR’s that we filed. It was done by Former Chief Mark Piland, and according to a city hall staffer this is what the Fire Chief turns into their boss – the city manager. It stats the following:
FY 2018 Add 7 Positions Total FD Personal: 260
FY 2019 Add 8 Positions
FY 2020 Add 27 Positions
FY 2021 Add 13 Positions
FY 2022 Add 24 Positions Total FD Personal: 332
Full Copy of 5-Year Strategic Plan written by Mark Piland:
Based on that strategic plan – how many do you think we hired? We have filed a PIR asking just that question. We did pull up the FY 2023 Budget which has the Fire Department clearly listed by department area. We wanted to focus on the “Tactical” personnel because when you call 911 that is the group that shows up at your front door. On the “tactical personnel” side it shows they went from 230 in FY 2021 to 239 in FY 2023. Yep 9 people!
The strategic 5-year plan that Cheney talked about in the 2023 election is what city goes by, shows by FY 2023 we should have had 281 “tactical” positions. Now the city council has been telling citizens we are staffed just fine at 239. It really hit home for us when we looked at it visually on the organizational chart. Frisco’s current population is 225,007 people, which makes us the 101 largest cities in the US and growing every day. The actual FY 2023 budget for the FD covers 279 personnel across different areas of the department from administrative, fleet, tactical and more.
If you look at the 5 Year Strategic plan Piland wrote in 2018 it shows for FY 2023 that we should have 332 personnel across the different areas of our fire department. That is a difference of 53 personnel – most of those positions are on the “tactical side.” Why did the city not meet the Strategic Plan in place? We posted the video of Mayor Cheney in our last blog, and he is talking about how the city has a “strategic plan,” they go by, so why do the numbers not match the plan MAYOR? Now I understand why the firefighters are so passionate about the staffing issues – it makes sense. If staffing was an in issue in 2011 and then per the strategic plan for 2018 – 2023 we are short staffed that means we are WAY BEHIND THE 8 BALL.
Then we remembered, during the election at the Stonebriar Forum, Angelia Pelham said she liked to look at FACTS aka DATA. She said in 5 years 57% of the Fire Department will be eligible for retirement. Hold up, wait a minute! As a resident that should concern you if you care about the welfare of your family. While it is not likely, let’s pretend all 57% of our those eligible in our fire department decided to take retirement in 5 years because they are sick of “The Frisco Way” and if the city does not go along with the current strategic plan (which we have filed a PIR for) for the next 5 years, it could decimate our department.
Let’s look at this another way. It takes about 1 to 2 years to train a Firefighter with class and hands on experience. We also know through PIRs in Frisco and other cities that when it comes to candidate testing for new firefighters – they are not coming to Frisco. They are going to other cities with a more favorable view of the fire department. Let’s assume we were already short-staffed in 2011. Then the city has been short staffing the fire department against the advice of the Fire Chief for the last ten years, plus it fails to follow the current 5-year plan to hire 55 new firefighters, and then you add on 57% of our Fire Department chose to retire in 5 years when they hit eligibility, what does that mean?
It means we will face a catastrophic shortfall of well-trained experienced firefighters. Our tenured firefighters have already been retiring and then going to other departments because they are not done working, they just don’t want to work in FRISCO anymore. The best training comes from experience and the “tenured firefighters” give real life saving mentorship to new firefighters who have yet to go down a 10-to-15-year career. If 57% leave in 5 years when eligible and the city which is already short staffed doesn’t follow the plan or hire more immediately than there will be no tenure in the department and that is a LIFE-OR-DEATH matter to firefighters, citizens and the council’s favorite…tourists.
We reiterate, Mayor Cheney, Angelia Pelham, John Keating, Bill Woodard, and Laura Rummel (Livingston has remained quiet), have all talked about the increase of staffing when we open the new Fire Stations 10 & 11. We wrote in depth about the Fire Department and Bonds in our blogpost 007 and if you have not read it, you should! Voters approved Station 10 in the 2015 bond, and in 2019 they asked Voters to approve Station 11.
Funny thing is they asked voters in 2023 to approve Fire Station 11 AGAIN along with a remodel of Station 4. You paid for STATION 11 – 2 TIMES!
Here is where we need you to buckle your seat belt. According to a leaked email we received, Station 11 has been scraped and put on an indefinite hold with no plan in the next several years to build it. YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS RUNNING FOR OFFICE LIED TO YOUR FACE WHEN THEY SAID IT WAS IN THE WORKS AND ALREADY PLANNED OUT! Remember every single one of the council members above said we will hire to staff the two new stations but in the 13th Stroke of the Clock there will be No Station 11 = NO HIRING OF FIREFIGHTERS. We filed a PIR Friday for the status of Station 11 and all documents, notes, emails, and plans for it to confirm the email we have so let’s see if they turn it over.
Our city council continues to lie to us, and we continue to take it with a grain of salt. They probably sit in their executive sessions and laugh at how stupid we are because they continue to have the 13th Stroke of the Clock ring out and no one is putting 2 + 2 together. Tick Tock, Tick Tock….
The ticking of time is the invisible heartbeat of our lives and affects every moment of our consciousness. Time and self are in perpetual handshake – for example, a human trapped in a completely dark cave would still be governed by the circadian rhythms of their internal clocks. There are many careers in which “time” is a critical component. Metrologists have technology that is incredibly accurate to measure the passing of minutes, seconds. Surgeons in an operating room live on a time clock and those who take too long could kill someone. Professional surf boarders must be able to catch the perfect wave and football players have to make the play in a certain space of time or face penalties. Various factors are crucial to our construction of the perception of time such as memory, concentration, emotion and the sense we have time is somehow located in space.
When it comes to the job of a firefighter, time plays a critical component. Imagine your house catching fire, flames coming out of the windows and roof line while you hear loud pop and bang sounds from things exploding inside. As you watch the firefighters attack the house fire, you become almost paralyzed, and time comes to a standstill. As you stand there seeing the chaos around you, it begins to feel like an eternity of time. For the firefighter the stress put on their body fighting your house fire can prompt their brain to speed up its internal processing which helps them face life or death situations.
When the process began to search for a new chief, the firefighters quickly realized the city had an agenda and that former Assistant Fire Chief Lee Glover from the “Un-Happy Days” was about to be their new commanding officer and Chief. The Frisco Firefighters Association did a survey and provided it to the City Manager and Council. In Survey Says we told you about that survey and its results. Question 1: Do you want Interim Fire Chief Glover to be the next Fire Chief of the Frisco Fire Department? Survey says … 92.5% said NO. City Manager Wes Pierson and his office, along with City Council, were given the results and they chose to disregard the voice of some 200+ firefighters and make Lee Glover the new Fire Chief.
When we were reading through the “In-Service Meeting” notes it was noted that firefighters believe it is their Chiefs job to fight for them and defend them but instead they feel Glover ignoring the staffing issues and only doing what is being asked of him by City Manager Wes Pierson. They don’t believe their current leader and Chief supports them in any way and the result is they have no voice with city management and city officials. One comment noted, “we are not being heard and it will take one of them dying before Glover or the city take notice of staffing issues.”
Who is responsible for hiring and firing in the city? Mayor Jeff Cheney addressed this issue in the 2023 Mayoral Campaign at the Star Patriots Candidate Forum. The Council hires the City Manager, and it is the city managers responsibility to manage and hire and fire department heads. If something goes wrong, you can bet Cheney will excuse himself from responsibility and put it all on Wes Pierson.
Another comment from the most recent notes reads, “we work under the fear of retaliation and feel we are disciplined for the simplest mistakes.” We feel like we have heard this before – oh yeah, we have in the 2011 Climate Report when Lee Glover was the Assistant Fire Chief. The 2011 Climate report reads “firefighters talk about getting in trouble for small things and being required to write memos on things they done (and re-writing them over and over until the Senior Officer is happy with it).” It goes on to read “they are being threatened with their job, being moved to the day shift, being belittled, yelled and treated like children.” Proof is in the pudding!
The “In-Service Meeting” notes also address promotions and annual evaluations. Officers feel they meet their rankings, do their job, and then they are told they must do more than that to get to move up. Now the promotional process is based on a “taskbook” which is a checklist that shows what a firefighter or officer understands and has been cleared in, to show they are proficient in the job they will be stepping into. It was recommended by one of the committees to implement the taskbook in 2025. The 50+ pages of notes said some complete the taskbook, but others can be prevented from completing it by the Battalion Chiefs which prevent them from testing. One comment was the process was very “subjective” and “some are allowed to test, while and others are not allowed to test for promotions.” We know from talking to several inside sources that just recently a handful of firefighters applied for the LT positions, and they were not allowed to test even though they qualified which matches the statements made by the firefighters at the meeting. We also learned that Fire Chief Lee Glover choose to ignore his committees (another complaint in the notes) and implement the taskbook requirement now and that did not give all the candidates time to complete it before the test.
After reading this, we honestly feel like we are on a Merry-Go-Round that is not so …merry. We pulled up the 2011 Climate Report that reads “firefighters’ perceptions of the hiring and promotion process is that it is manipulated by the Chief and Senior Officers.” It goes on to read “firefighters would like to see a hiring and promotion process established, published and followed that does not allow for manipulation of the data of tests and who is selected.” So basically, what is in the 2011 Climate Report matches the feelings of the 2024 In-Service Meeting Notes and the one common denominator is … Fire Chief Lee Glover!
We think that City Manager – Wes Pierson, Mayor Jeff Cheney, and the City Council suffer from Echolaia, which is the repetition or echoing of words that you hear someone else say. If not Echolaia, then they suffer from insanity which is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If they don’t have either of those two medical conditions, well then, they suffer from just simple stupidity. Voltaire noted that the more often a stupidity is repeated, the more it appears to be wisdom.
In a nutshell the council hopes we are “STUPID” and if they just repeat the same thing over and over, we will begin to believe it. They are like Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ clicking together her ruby red slippers but instead of saying there is no place like home they are saying Chief Glover is the best, Chief Glover is the best! Just look at Mayor Jeff Cheney at the Star Patriot forum in 2023 when he was running for re-election. After seeing the FFA Survey showing a vote of NO CONFIDENCE in the new Fire Chief Lee Glover, he went to a candidate forum and directly lied to our faces talking about how great Glover was and how he was already improving things at the fire department. LET THAT SINK IN FRISCO RESIDENTS: MAYOR CHENEY KNOWINGLY LIED DIRECTLY TO VOTERS and thought he would never get caught.
Remember, the entire goal of the city and its leadership at all levels these past two years has been to blame Piland, blame the power grab on the “small portion of firefighters”, and to blame anyone and everyone but themselves. They have LIED…. and in the most recent election for the propositions the Frisco Fire Association even made a video pointing that out.
The only mistake the City of Frisco and Frisco City Council made was thinking people would not get tired of their BS and start to pay attention. That failure is what allowed the Whistleblowers to rise up!
Did you know each new day brings us 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,000 seconds. When we were kids, my mom used to say don’t waste a damn minute of your life because each second, each minute, each hour, is loaned to us by God. One day when you meet him, he is going to ask you how effectively you used that time. I developed the same fascination with time and when my kids were growing up, they would always say, “dad, do you have a minute?” I would reply with a poem I heard or learned (can’t remember where or who wrote it).
I have only just a minute, only 60 seconds in it;
forced upon me; can’t refuse it;
didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it.
But it’s up to me just how I use it.
I must suffer if I lose it, give account if I abuse it.
Just a tiny little minute, but eternity is in it.
When you waste time on a useless task, activity or endeavor you are essentially choosing to squander 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,000 seconds. Now you are probably wondering why we are writing about time, well lately we have been pondering how much wasted time it will take our City Manager – Wes Pierson, Mayor Jeff Cheney, Bill Woodard, Angelia Pelham, John Keating and the rest of the council to “man up.”
During the most recent election for council John Keating knowingly spread false accusations about his opponent from any microphone handed to him. We were curious after knowingly spreading false lies and false accusations saying Retired Fire Chief Mark Piland was fired and the cause of the problem in the Fire Department, will he “MAN UP” now and publicly apologize after reading the 50+ page In-Service notes? I mean he has the 2011 Climate Report and now 50+ pages of In-Service notes all pointing to the same person – Chief Lee Glover! According to his own soap box moment he should step up and do the right thing for our firefighters and former city employees because in a few years he is going to ask us to vote for him for MAYOR!
In the world of a firefighter seconds and minutes in a fire fight are very important and as they are risking their life. That is why reviewing these 50+ pages of notes from the mandatory June In-Service Meeting are so important. For them to do the job well they need to understand the training and vision for the department. According to the most recent in-service notes, the most alarming statement made was that the firefighters still have no idea of Glovers “vision” for the department outside of the Strategic Plan.
Communication or should we say the lack of communication was the next big topic. Firefighters have concerns over the lack of visibility and communications from Chief Glover. It was noted that Chief Glover does not even take the time to send an e-mail to motivate the department after catastrophic events. They also don’t believe Glover listens or consults with his committees which could help him build relationships with those under his command.
After reading the part about communication I thought back to a recent story on the news about the storms hitting Fire Fighter Row in Celina. Imagine you are a firefighter enjoying a nice sleep and you awake to alarms and the sound of wind pushing in the walls of your home. You quickly realize your entire street is in the eye of a tornado and when it is all over, several neighbors who are also firefighters in the same department have their homes destroyed and your normal life just became chaotic in minutes. Would you expect a phone call from your Chief asking how you and your family were doing? Would you expect an email to go out from the Chief asking the command staff and front-line members to pray and donate their time to help with the clean up or whatever needs to be done? As the Chief, would you grab your clothes and tools and head out the door to support your brotherhood in person? The Frisco Firefighter’s Association showed up, raised money for the families, spent countless days cleaning up and lending hands. How long do you think it took Chief Lee Glover to do any of these things? Tick Tock, Tick Tock the seconds and minutes pass and the hands just go around the clock!
The firefighters feel they are on a path with the Fire Chief and City Manager of do more with less which the In-Service notes say is destroying morale. The frontline feels they are falling behind and going backwards. One comment was the firefighters have been left to drowned and the emotional and mental beat down is affecting the whole department.
What will it take for City Manager -Wes Pierson to drop his arrogant attitude, “MAN UP” and simply do his job?What will it take for the Mayor and City Council to admit the problem was never Fire Chief Mark Piland but a problem of their own doing that was 1000% avoidable? Rewind the clock and go back to the 2011 Climate Report that we talked about in our article Humpty Dumpty, which stated that then Fire Chief, Mack Borchardt and upper management command staff had run the department into the ground. That report led to the city council demanding he be “let go” but his good ole buddy City Manager, George Purefoy got him a nice and rather large retirement package. Then Purefoy gives him a golden parachute job in the City Manager’s office so the two best buddies could be together forever. Well, Purefoy retired but Borchardt is still with the city, in the same job today, making 6 figures and has a city vehicle?
The 2011 Climate Report also named Assistant Chief Lee Glover at the time as part of the problem which is why he was not named Chief in 2012, and the city brought it in Mark Piland. Now they want to you to believe Piland is the problem – yet the Association did not go for Civil Service under Piland. There are no 50+ page reports of Piland’s bad leadership and his yearly EVAL’s have him top notch. We are not saying things were perfect nothing ever is but it does seem the department was making changes and progress in the right direction. Now the City Manager and Council want you to believe Piland is a disgruntled employee and the “cancer” that plagued the department, because they had to hide that HR falsified documents. Even though they knew Glover’s past and previous issues (of which there are many) they choose to make him the new Fire Chief. Now that the bubble has burst and the public knows the systemic problems of 2011 followed Glover (old dogs don’t develop new habits) into his role as the current Fire Chief, they want you to believe a new story. Now everything is the fault of the Frisco Firefighter’s Association because they want more personnel to do their job safely and better workman’s comp benefits.
Here is where we are hung up, why, in what world or universe, did the City Manager Wes Pierson or the Frisco City Council think making Lee Glover the new Fire Chief was a good idea? A wise man once said if you repeat the mistakes of the past don’t expect a different outcome! After slowly making progress and change the last 10 years, in a department filled with trust issues, today our fire department is back in 2011. They are unhappy, the days of fear and lack of trust have resurfaced, have a City Manager who could not give two shXts and a City Council who blames the issues on the men and woman of the association, which is almost our whole department for the problem.
IT IS TIME FOR A COME TO JESUS as my mother used to say with the belt in her hand. Every single member on our city council, minus Brian Livingston have spoken against the men and woman in our Fire Department. Our City Manager has an ego bigger than the State of Texas and according to insiders in several departments, his arrogance is destroying the city from the inside out and he turns his nose up to the concerns of the Fire Department. At this point they will all have to pull a rabbit out of hat to blame next because we are pretty sure they are running out of employees to blame it on as they clean house to cover things up. Want the STEVE AUSTIN “COLD HARD TRUTH” …. The CITY COUNCIL IS THE PROBLEM; THE CITY MANAGER IS THE PROBLEM AND THE CURRENT FIRE CHIEF LEE GLOVER IS THE PROBLEM! Until citizens “wake up ” we will just let the clock go “Tick Tock, Tick Tock!”
The other day I was reading an article about the most common 6 phrases people say to gaslight and manipulate you. What is gaslighting? It is a manipulation tactic often wielded by emotional disruptive abusers and is insidious in nature making it hard for a person to recognize the tactic is happening. What happens when someone tries to gaslight you?
Gradually you begin to question your own judgement, memories, feelings and questioning reality. The article quoted therapist Shannon Thomas who stated that “people who cannot authentically argue their point of view or stand behind their words turn to gaslighting as a tool.” She went on to say ’they resort to confusion creating tactics, and that it really is a true sign of character weakness.”
It made me think back to our recent elections and the mixed messaging the city tried to sell to citizens while attacking our Frisco Firefighters relentlessly while also saying they support our first responders and dedicate at least ½ our annual budget to public safety. They also attacked and tried to destroy the reputation of Former Fire Chief, Mark Piland by saying he was the problem and the reason for the low morale. The solution, to make Lee Glover, the new “SAVING GRACE” Fire Chief. Based on the In-Service notes we have reviewed, the city may have failed “BIG TIME” and the leader driving the bus is our very own City Manager, Wes Pierson!
After the election was over there was a large disdain between our Fire Department and the city so they planned a weeklong set of In-Service Meetings, aka “Healing Sessions” to listen to the firefighters’ concerns. We filed a PIR for anything related to those meetings and after reading the 50+ page report of notes one thing became very clear, the city council knowingly and repeatedly lied to citizens during the election.
Example 1: The Vote No PAC, funded by Frisco Developers, and run by Mayor Pro Tem Bill Woodard
Councilman Woodard was interviewed by Jack Fink with CBS Texas and when asked why the Fire Fighters were bringing the propositions to the ballot, he specifically said due to the “FORMER LEADERSHIP” of the department, referring to Former Fire Chief Mark Piland. We assumed we would see some of those issues noted in this 50+ page report, however only 2 comments were made, which is one the environment is a little more relaxed now (uniforms) and that Piland may have tended to over communicate to the department.
However, they had a lot to say about the current Fire Chief, Lee Glover. When it comes to budgeting and purchasing new equipment, they feel the Chief Glover is out of touch with today’s firefighting tactics. Firefighters said Glovers’ only tactic since arriving has been cost cutting measures to look good to the City Manager’s Office and council and that means he his neglecting his duty to his command.
Remember the Blood Program, otherwise known as which was carried by the Squad Unit? Refresh your memory by reading our older articles “Another One Bites The Dust” and “Make It Look Pretty.” At the time Councilman Woodard was the “city mouthpiece” across social media supporting Glover’s decision to end the Squad program and transfer the blood program to two battalion chief vehicles. The report talks about Glover’s cost cutting measures and how the firefighters believe removing the Squad Unit and transferring the Blood Program was a huge failure as it took away two extra working people on calls and losing the expertise of the Squad members could be and will be deadly to citizens.
What is the end result of the firefighter’s statement above about their concerns with Glover being out of touch with today’s firefighting tactics? Chief Glover has cut valid programs, training and they believe he is purchasing the wrong equipment. Glover has also de-incentivized training under his command, and today they have less training which is dangerous. Courses and training are required for promotions to the next rank and other departments pay for employees to attend training, but Glover is telling his command to “put stock in your own training.” As for equipment, Glover is buying more Quints -the big bulky fire trucks of the old days, which are hard to get around the neighborhood’s tight and crowded streets. The firefighters prefer more engines and tillers. We are told engines are quicker and shorter in size making them a better choice. We are also told the tillers are an advantageous truck because they can go anywhere, carries more tools and is quicker to vent with 107’ ladder.
Are we done yet? Oh no, we are just getting started! There is so much to go over that we are going to break it up into multiple articles this week. Tonight, we leave you with three questions:
1. Why is the City Council and City Manager gaslighting residents into believing all of these issues are due to Former Fire Chief Piland who was endorsed by the Frisco Firefighters Assocation this year during the election?
2. Why is the City Council and City Manager gaslighting residents into thinking the problem is our Fire Association, who they called Greedy Bastards, power hungry and lazy during the election?
3. Why is the City Council and City Manager dying on a sharp sword for Fire Chief Lee Glover who in all respects to his command his nowhere to be found and neglecting his duty to his command?
We leave you with a strong remark in the In-Service notes which we stated above, “Firefighters believe Glover’s only goal is to look good to the City Manager’s Office and City Council which results in him neglecting his duty to his command.” ….. come back tomorrow for part two
UPDATE: PLEASE NOTE WE HAVE MADE CORRECTIONS TO OUR ARTICLE BASED ON MORE DETAILS RECEIVED. CORRECTIONS CAN BE NOTED IN RED OR WITH A STRIKETHROUGH MARK.
Recently we received an email that read “I follow your page and have always wanted to speak out as a Veteran in this town. I hope you will share my thoughts on your page. I have titled it Stolen Valor at Frisco City Hall. Sincerely, a Frisco Veteran”
Hello Frisco Veteran, and of course we would be more than happy to share your thoughts with our readers. Below is the letter that was attached to this email. Nothing in the attachment has been changed or altered. Thank you for your service and for following our page. Enjoy!
The Frisco Veterans Memorial located in Frico Commons Park is a testament to the men and women who served in uniform. You can take an audio tour to learn about the Memorial and it’s meaning for veterans and the residents of Frisco. The Battlefield Cross, Wall of Honor and Gold Star Families Memorial Monument remind us of the sacrifices our men and women in uniform made in service to our country.
This struggle and sacrifice aren’t exclusive to members of the armed forces, it’s just as meaningful for our Police Officers, Firefighters and First Responders. We’ve had devastating accidents happen to our Frisco Police Officers and Firefighters in the line of duty and the effects are still being felt by the victims and their families.
Supporting those injured in the line of duty is our responsibility yet when the opportunity came for City Hall to do the right by a Firefighter, our City Manager Wes Pierson failed. Cameron Kraemer was a former Assistant Fire Chief for the City of Frisco for 27 years, yet he was fired after the City of Frisco denied his Workers Compensation claim for PTSD. In late 2023, the Texas Department of Insurance ordered the City of Frisco to pay Mr. Kraemer his back benefits via lump sum. On August 2nd, 2024, Mr. Kraemer filed a Wrongful Termination suit against the City of Frisco after the DOJ ruled that he could sue.
Frisco City Manager Wes Pierson’s actions toward Mr. Kraemer sent a terrible message to our Police Officers, Firefighters and First Responders. Mr. Pierson destroyed any credibility he had with the Police and Fire Department, to make matters worse every time the courts rules in Mr. Kraemer’s favor the distrust and resentment grows.
The City of Frisco claims to be a “Veteran Friendly City” and has multiple events that celebrate and honor our veterans. Often when people think about veterans, they think about our service members abroad. Our Police Officers and Firefighters put their life on the line, every day in service to our community and should be treated with the same level of honor and respect. Next time you see Mr. Pierson at a Veterans function or event with Police Officers or Firefighters, Never Forget his act of Stolen Valor against Mr. Kraemer.
If you live in Frisco, then you should know the name Cameron Kraemer. Kraemer, the former Assistant Fire Chief, was fired after 27+ years with the city. During his time with the Frisco Fire Department, he served as Deputy Chief, Battalion Chief, Captain, Lieutenant, Firefighter and Paramedic. But last year in 2023 Kraemer’s name was the subject of many headlines. Community Impact’s headline read, “Frisco Assistant Fire Chief Kraemer fired after nearly 30 years” and The Dallas Express headline read, “Local Assistant Fire Chief Kraemer Fired.”
Why would the City of Frisco fire such a long-standing employee? Kraemer’s history with the city goes deep, his dad Tom Kraemer, who recently passed away, worked for the city’s communications department for around 19 years. A Facebook post by the Frisco Fire Fighters Association on May 2, 2023 read, “Regrettably, Assistant Chief Kraemer has been terminated by the City of Frisco after 27 years of service, without being given the opportunity to go through the appeals process and contested case hearings,” the post read in part. The post went on to say that Kraemer went on leave in August 2022 for post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the Frisco Fire Fighters Association, Kraemer filed for workers’ compensation for PTSD in December 2022, citing Section 504.019 of the Texas Labor Code. The department denied Kraemer’s claim. He is appealing the decision. The post closed with the following remark, “It is disheartening to witness the dismissal of a Firefighter with significant tenure in this way, particularly in a city that prides itself on its care and regard for its employees.”
At Frisco Chronicles, we felt something smelled like a freshly cooking, Cowboy Cow Pile Patty, smoldering in our Texas 110-degree summer heat. That is a nice way of saying something smelled like ShXt. We started to dig, and we uncovered some dirty back door dealings about the city which we disclosed in our 12 days of Christmas Articles (check the archives). We were curious what would happen next with Kraemer, and we didn’t have to wait long to find out.
Cameron Kraemer took his workers’ compensation case before the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) claiming he was undergoing treatment for long-term post-traumatic stress when the city terminated him and denied his claims for medical coverage. On September 21, 2023, the case went before the TDI in Dallas and the administrative law judge who heard the case ordered the City of Frisco, which is self-insured, to pay Kraemer benefits and any accrued but unpaid income benefits in a lump sum with interest as provided by law.
On October 12, 2023, the Frisco Firefighters Association released a Press Release that was posted to their Facebook page that reads, “The state ruled that Cameron’s injury was compensable under the workers’ compensation law. We are working with the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters to review Cameron’s options for going forward.” Attached to the post was a Press Release and it quotes Matthew Sapp, President of the Frisco Fire Fighters Association, as saying “Cameron Kraemer was undergoing treatment for LINE-OF-DUTY injuries clearly recognized by the state legislature and medical experts, but the City of Frisco CHOSE TO BREAK THE LAW, deny him insurance coverage and terminate him.” The press release noted: The city WASTED TAXPAYER RESOURCES on this case!
The win was also reported across local news and newspapers. The Dallas Morning News headline reads “Frisco Firefighter fired while on medical leave WINS WORKERS’ COMP CASE.” The article noted Kraemer was still undergoing treatment for long-term post-traumatic stress disorder. Kraemer is quoted as saying, “They took away my job, it took away all my benefits, they took away everything, and they wanted me to retire.” Kraemer refused to retire and went through the appeals process. “I’m still young so I’m penalized for retiring before the age of 50 as a first responder. I’m only 46,” he said. “And the reality is I’ve got three teenagers, and they had to walk through this process with us. And the amount of strain and tension and stress and anxiety that it puts on the house, you can’t even quantify it.”
While many don’t believe that PTSD is a real issue, it is! Ask yourself this, if you saw a 45-foot Frisco Fire Truck back up and pin a fellow firefighter against the wall of a city building, then after you had to clean up the blood and bodily fluids at the scene and notify the fellow firefighter’s family, COULD YOU HANDLE IT? The incident, discussed in the DMN articles is what Cameron Kraemer and our fellow Frisco Firefighters see every day! As a holistic person I can only imagine the impact it has on your mind, body, spirit and soul. Do you think Sassy Lauren Safranek, the City HR Director, or any of our fellow city council members have witnessed anything like this or worse? How about seeing it throughout your 27-year career, are you sure you could handle it?
Truthfully, my wife and I could not imagine seeing the devastation and destruction these men and woman in both our Police and Fire departments see daily. You probably think the city did the right thing but of course they didn’t. Instead, they sent their attack boar Bobblehead Bill Woodard on social media to pass out false information on Kraemer’s case and attack our first responders during the most recent election. Why is a city councilman releasing personal details in an ongoing case on social media? We are glad he did because it made our spidey little senses rise and we started investigating and will write about that in our next article.
Where is Cameron Kraemer now? Well, he is still receiving treatment, and his case had to go before the DOJ to determine if he was able to sue the city for his wrongful termination. Yesterday, we learned from sources inside the city that the DOJ ruled Kramer can sue and we are betting he wins big time! Meanwhile Bobblehead Bill Woodard wants you to believe our firefighters are lazy (his words during the May 2024 election), however it is not in their nature to lay down without a fight. Kraemer is going to use the legal process to take a wrecking ball to the city in court, which he should! Infact, the case was filed on 8/2/2024 in Collin Countys 416th District Court under case number 416-05201-2024.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU THE TAXPAYER? That means taxpayers on top of spending money on Performing Arts Centers, downtown revitalization, and the upcoming Grand Park, will also be subject to a BIG TIME CASINO LIKE PAYOUT to Cameron Kraemer and rightfully so! To be direct, the city who lolly gagged around, could have tried to settle this issue but choose to swing their cajónes around and now taxpayers will foot the bill for it. NOW YOU CAN SEE WHY THEY ARE ABOUT TO ANNOUNCE THEY ARE RAISING OUR TAXES!
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