NOLANVILLE, Texas (FOX 44) – A recent TikTok video of the Central Texas Bell County Fire Department and the Nolanville Police Chief has gone viral.
It all started when the volunteer fire department asked for a new liaison to it’s board of directors, but the city did not comply.
At the time, the liaison was police chief Michael Hatton who previously served as the board’s president.
After a recent board meeting, interim fire chief David Nobles notified the city through an email that they were dismissing the current board and replacing them with a new one.
Steven Drayton served as the board president since November 2022.
“It came from Chief Nobles saying that the members have voted to dismiss the board because of different disagreements and behaviors. Once again, it’s in the middle of the night and everyone is totally shocked on what just happened … Our issue was that we was not given notice that this was going to happen and then we wasn’t given the opportunity to hear whatever grievance they may have and an opportunity to respond.” – Drayton
Drayton believes it was a clash of personalities and a handful of instances that sparked the conflict. Fire Chief Nobles confirmed this but added there have been financial questions as well.
The City of Nolanville provides the volunteer fire department with $45,000 dollars for bills such as utilities and other fire related expenses.
Just a few months after the most recent board was appointed in November, funds ran out. The Fire Chief says the treasurer was reinstated by the new board because she previously had no access to financials.
“If you don’t want to give us our $45,000 a year, okay, we can still respond to calls in the community, and that’s just the way we feel about it.” -Nobles
So what does this mean for the people of Nolanville and their safety in emergencies?
The volunteer fire department will continue to service Nolanville with no changes to response times thanks to the city of Killeen for donating a truck.
“We don’t want this drama. But in order to do that, there’s got to be steps taken, you know, and, you know, right now, this is our move. You know, if if you don’t want to help us, then we’re going to have to find out and we’re going to have to figure out another way to keep serving this community.” -Nobles