Union threatens legal fight if Harlingen airport privatizes firefighting services

Runway 17R/35L is seen at Valley International Airport in Harlingen. The first phase of the project will lengthen the runway to the south from 8,301 feet to 9,400 feet, making it the longest runway south of San Antonio. (Rick Kelley/Valley Morning Star)

HARLINGEN — The firefighters union here is calling on city commissioners to stop Valley International Airport from “illegally” hiring a contractor to provide aircraft firefighting services, a move that would lead the union to file a lawsuit against the city.

In a meeting, Evan Mann, president of the Harlingen Professional Firefighters Union, told commissioners the airport board’s hiring of a contractor would violate Civil Service law.

“If the airport board votes to contract out firefighting services and the city council fails to intervene to halt that illegal action, we will have no choice but to zealously pursue all legal avenues available including filing suit against the city, and if we do so, I am confident we will win,” he told commissioners during a meeting Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Mann claimed airport officials are pointing to Federal Aviation Administration reports citing “isolated” firefighter training violations, overlooking the fire department’s “perfect” annual FAA inspections, as part of a plan to “discredit” the fire department in order to lead the airport board to terminate the city’s $1.2 million agreement providing aircraft rescue and firefighting services.

In an interview, Marv Esterly, the airport’s aviation director, denied the claims.

“I don’t agree with any of that,” he said.

From 2017 to 2024, the FAA cited the fire department for three training violations, while last year Esterly self-reported “misleading” entries raising concerns of the possibility of records falsification in training logs stemming from two sessions in June and July 2024.

“The FAA determined training and misleading entries to be directly isolated to the identified sessions and not systemic to the entire ARFF training program,” Denson E. Stasher, the agency’s safety and standards manager, wrote to Esterly in a Feb. 19 report closing an investigation based on last year’s findings. “In closing this case, we have considered all available facts and have concluded the matter does not warrant legal enforcement.”

FAA threatened Valley International Airport shutdown over firefighter training falsifications

Last week, Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz said he could not comment on “pending investigations” when asked if his office was investigating the possibility of records falsification.

During Wednesday’s city commission meeting, Mann claimed airport officials are overstating the FAA findings as part of a plan to discredit the fire department in order to justify the termination of the city’s agreement providing aircraft rescue and firefighting services.

“The reputation and integrity of the Harlingen Fire Department has been slandered and questioned in efforts to push this agenda,” Mann told commissioners during the meeting’s public comment period.

“I am here today to defend our program and point out that the recent investigations by the FAA ruled that the documentation discrepancy that was in question was an isolated event and not systemic to our training program,” he told commissioners.

On Wednesday, the FAA gave the fire department’s ARFF program a “perfect score” as part of the agency’s annual inspection audit, Mann said.

“In fact, as of today I am extremely proud to say that our ARFF program has achieved a perfect score five years in a row during our extensive FAA annual inspections,” he told commissioners. “This is a prime example of how we are being misrepresented to the public eye for personal agenda.”

In his statement, Mann called on commissioners to meet with their appointed airport board members to warn them against hiring a contractor to replace the fire department’s ARFF team.

”I ask each of the commissioners here today to reach out to the airport board member you appointed and explain to them why they cannot legally privatize the ARFF program and that you have the highest confidence in the Harlingen Fire Department,” Mann told commissioners. “If your appointee does not have the best interests of the city, I ask you to consider reappointing someone who will work with the city rather than against.”

On Thursday, Fire Chief Rafael Balderas told City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez the FAA “found no discrepancies” during its annual audit of the airport’s ARFF program.

“As a matter of record, I am pleased to advise you that our HFD ARFF program was inspected by the FAA this week and they found no discrepancies with ARFF for the fifth year in a row,” Balderas, who was hired in 2021, wrote. “This is a testament of our firefighters’ dedication and commitment to the safety of the traveling public in Harlingen. Even though our personnel at the airport have been under scrutiny the last couple of weeks, they will always be Harlingen proud.”

Before the city commission’s meeting, Mann said the airport board’s termination of the city’s agreement providing firefighting services would lead to the loss of 10 ARFF members’ jobs, leading to a violation of Civil Service law.

In an interview, Mann claimed Esterly was overstating FAA citings of training violations as part of a plan aimed at leading the airport board to hire a contractor to replace the fire department’s ARFF services.

“What they want is full autonomy from the city so they can operate in the fashion of a private airport and still get funding from FAA for being a city-chartered airport,” he said. “It’s a smear campaign. They’re trying to find any discrepancy possible to discredit the fire department to push their agenda.”

In an interview, Esterly denied the claims.

“What they’re telling you is not true,” he told the Valley Morning Star. “It’s part of our duty to self-report. This airport is owned and established by the city of Harlingen. The airport board is a joint board set up under Texas Transportation Code Chapter 22 and will remain that way. The city of Harlingen owns this airport and will always own this airport.”

In its 2024 investigation report, the FAA found the fire department’s ARFF program in “full compliance,” Erik Ramirez, the union’s vice president, said in an interview.

“They did not see any risks,” Mann said. “They didn’t see any performance-based issues. At the end of the day, there’s nothing wrong with the ARFF program.”

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