In April of 2021 you would have thought an El Paso dust storm full of tumbleweeds came through Frisco and upset the equilibrium of our city.  As we discussed in our earlier blogs Where There Is Smoke PT 1 and There is Fire PT 2, there has been a long standing point of contention between the Frisco Firefighters Association and the city in regards to workers compensation. 

In 2021 the city opposed House Bill 2242 brought forward by Jared Patterson, Texas State House Rep for Frisco.  In 2023 the FFA and Patterson brought HB 471, and they have been working extremely hard to get it or similar legislation passed in Austin that would protect first responders across Texas.  The fight for more protection by the FFA and Jared Paterson has continued into our 2025 Texas Legislative Session.

Even though we knew about the El Paso dust storm, my wife and I were still shocked on May 16, 2023, after tuning into the city council meeting online, like we have done every other Tuesday for years. Mayor Cheney presented a proclamation to Denton County MGMR, for all the work they do each day relating to mental health.  Mental Health Awareness Month aims to increase awareness about the vital role mental health plays in our overall health and well-being and provide resources and information to support individuals and communities in need of mental health support.  

At that same meeting, during Citizen Input (23:00 minute mark), Frisco Firefighters Association President, Matt Sapp, along with Retired Frisco Fire Chief Mark Piland, and Assistant Fire Chief Cameron Kraemer to address the termination of Kraemer, a 27-year Veteran of the Frisco Fire Department. 

What?  After 27-years serving our city and its residents without hesitation, Kraemer was terminated BY EMAIL while on medical leave and under medical supervision for PTSD which we go into more detail about in our blog Backdraft which we really encourage you to read.   

By the end of the meeting, I wanted to scream like Alanis Morrissette…

Isn’t it ironic?
Don’t you think?
A little too ironic

Where are we two years later? It is Mental Health Awareness Month again, and the second anniversary of Kraemer’s termination BY EMAIL while on medical leave.  The fight is not over, not even close!  It’s time to peel back the curtain on a firehouse-sized problem simmering here in Frisco? Buckle up, this one’s got smoke, politics, and no small dose of Texas-sized irony.

Smoke, Stigma & Silenced: Mark Piland

Since then, Retired Fire Chief Mark Piland has had his name wrongfully smeared and his 40-year stellar career in public service wrongfully attacked by City of Frisco leaders for speaking out on behalf of Kraemer and the Frisco Firefighters Association when he attempted to run for Frisco City Council.

The Legislative Lifeline

When your city will not support you, what do you do?  The Frisco Firefighters Association has continued the fight and has been in Austin off and on the last several weeks with local State Rep Jared Patterson to fight for more protection for public safety employees in the State of Texas.   Just today, HB331 officially headed to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law!  The bill marks the final piece of legislation language from last session’s HB471 that our Frisco Firefighters have been advocating for the past three legislative sessions.

A Firefighters Fight: Cameron Kraemer

And Cameron Kraemer, where is he? Kraemer, while still under medical supervision, started the fight of his life against our very own City of Frisco.  After a hearing on September 21, 2023, before the Texas Department of Insurance, the DMN reports that the administrative law judge hearing 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.  According to John Riddle, president of the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters, Kraemer’s case is being watched throughout Texas, and it is important to the state’s 18,000 firefighters in 195 communities.  Riddle said in the DMN, “For now, Frisco is among the most aggressive cities in fighting its injured employees at City Hall and the Legislature — and because of that, employees like Cameron Kraemer pay a high price.”

The battle continued as Kraemer took his case before the DOJ for them to determine if he was able to sue the city for wrongful termination which we wrote about in our blog Big Time Casino Payout. The DOJ ruled Kraemer could move forward with a lawsuit so in August 2024 Cameron Kraemer filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination against the City of Frisco in Collin County.  Based on the research we have done, Kraemer is going to win, and we think he will win big!  You can learn more in our December 2024 blog Kraemer vs City of Frisco that we wrote which lays out the details. 

Final Thoughts from the Hillside Winery Whistleblower

Ask yourself why.  Why is the city spending hundreds of thousands on a private law firm to fight so hard and drag this out for so long, when clearly, they are in the wrong?  Why is the city spending tax dollars fighting our public safety employees instead of protecting them and just doing the right thing?   What will this cost us, the taxpayers, when he wins? Our guess…. MILLIONS! But that is not all. We are hearing rumors of other lawsuits that have been or will be filed by former employees of the FD against the City of Frisco.  We are digging into that now! 

They had all the time in the world to prance around asking us to vote to change the use of EDC funds for a Frisco Center For The Arts but they cannot simply make things right with the firefighters. Instead, we have Councilwoman Meinershagen calling them 300lb bullies and complaining that they are fighting for protections that directly affect their life. We have Bicycle Bill Woodard, who wants you to believe the firefighters are lazy (his words during the May 2024 election), and they want to bankrupt the city.  You can’t get a paycheck from a bankrupt city, so why would they want to do that?   Cheney and Keating want you to believe that our RETIRED Fire Chief was fired after a stellar career with the city and 10 years of perfect performance reviews.  Not to mention, in our PIR requests and federal FOIA’s, we found his entire 40-year career was stellar with not one deficient performance review.  Lastly, no one is paying attention to the fact that in the last 6 to 8 months, several (rumor is 6 to 8) of our firefighters are saying Hasta La Vista Baby either via retirement or quitting their job.  They are going to work for other organizations and cities where they are valued.    

Just hope and pray your house does not catch fire because we were already short staffed and now it is getting worse!  The city loyalists just turn a blind eye as always, and function as if nothing if wrong.  They want you to believe we have nothing to be worried about, but as a taxpayer you can bet, I am worried!  Big Time Payouts, the loss of experienced firefighters from our roster puts citizens and businesses in jeopardy.

Reference Articles:

DMN: Frisco changes workers’ comp policy for first responders            June  1, 2024

DMN: Frisco Firefighter fired while on medical leave wins workers’ comp case     10/12/23