DA: No comment on ‘pending investigation’ on HFD allegations

HARLINGEN — The Cameron County District Attorney’s Office is not commenting on a “pending investigation” into whether the Harlingen Fire Department falsified Valley International Airport firefighter training records.

On Thursday, District Attorney Luis V. Saenz declined to comment.

“The DA’s office does not comment on pending investigations,” he said.

On April 24, the district attorney’s office requested city officials provide Federal Aviation Administration documents including information regarding the fire department’s “misleading entries” into training records, City Attorney Mark Sossi said.

In response, he provided the district attorney’s office with two FAA investigation reports dated Feb. 19, he said in an interview.

Sossi said he had no other FAA documents stemming from the agency’s investigation.

“We gave the DA everything we had from the FFA,” City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez said, referring to the two Feb. 19 FAA documents.

Meanwhile, Marv Esterly, Valley International Airport’s aviation director, said the district attorney’s office had not contacted his office.

On April 22, the district attorney’s office said it was requesting the FAA provide “their report regarding the Harlingen Fire Department’s Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting training compliance documents and related records for Valley International Airport.”

Late last year, Esterly contacted the FAA after three airport firefighters signed affidavits claiming deficiencies appearing to contradict records stemming from two training sessions conducted in June and July 2024, a Dec. 5, 2024 report shows.

“The discrepancies between the actual training conducted and the official training records raise the possibility of falsification,” Esterly wrote the report to the FAA.

A view of Valley International Airport on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Harlingen. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)

In one affidavit, a driver “indicates that the training session lasted less than 20 minutes and did not include hands-on training, despite the official training record inaccurately stating the session lasted one hour with no indication of skill performance being conducted,” he wrote.

“Sworn affidavits from two ARFF personnel indicate that this class was significantly abbreviated, lasting only 14 minutes and, like the June session, lacked hands-on training,” Esterly wrote in the report. “These discrepancies conflict with the official training record, which inaccurately claims compliance with the FAA-approved curriculum.”

In response, he reported concerns of falsified training records to Fire Chief Rafael Balderas, Esterly said.

“Chief Balderas has informed me that he is investigating the allegations,” Esterly wrote in the report. “Additionally, I, along with the airport board chairman and the airport board attorney have met with the mayor, city manager and the city attorney to discuss these findings. During our meeting, they advised that they are committed to investigating these findings thoroughly ….”

As part of their investigation, city officials requested an internal audit into the allegations, the report states.

During the audit, Sanjuana Garcia, the city’s internal auditor, reviewed the records, Esterly said.

“She reviewed all training records for the ARFF and found no discrepancies,” Gonzalez said.

Meanwhile, FAA officials interviewed a group of airport firefighters regarding allegations of abbreviated classes and failure to conduct hands-on training.

A Harlingen Fire Department truck is seen Friday, April 19, 2024. (Courtesy: City of Harlingen/Facebook)

“HFD entered misleading entries into the June 13, 2024 and July 11, 2024 training record relative to the sufficiency and quality of the training,” the FAA wrote in a Feb. 19 report. “The entries raised questions relative to potential falsification, reproduction or alteration of applications, certificates, reports or records in accordance” with the Code of Federal Regulations.

In its investigation, the FAA found “inadequate training and misleading entries to be directly isolated to the identified sessions and not systemic to the entire ARFF training program,” the agency’s report stated.

In closing the case, FAA officials “concluded the matter does not warrant legal enforcement.”

”We will expect your future compliance with the regulations,” Denson E. Stasher, the FAA’s manager of safety and standards branch, wrote in the report.

Last month, the airport’s board of directors tabled action on a proposed resolution calling for the termination of the airport’s $1.2 million agreement with the city providing the fire department’s aircraft rescue and firefighting services.

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