PORT ARTHUR, Texas — New details have emerged about the termination of Port Arthur Fire Chief Greg Benson.
The Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie says it followed a no confidence vote by members of the fire department, but others claim that vote never happened.
Benson told 12News that the city manager, Ronald Burton, fired him Thursday afternoon. He says the firing came out of nowhere.
Bartie tells 12News that the vote of no confidence from the Port Arthur Professional Firefighters Association played into Benson's termination. But the association's president Sean Johnson says that vote never happened.
"Chief Benson has been great for the city in the community. Maybe that didn't carry on to his leadership in the department," said Bartie.
Burton was unhappy with where the department was headed, according to Bartie.
"It's something that has been happening for an extended period of time," he said. "It was command staff that made a decision that if the city continued in that direction they were not going to be available to us. So a decision had to be made."
"The vote of no confidence, it never occurred. There was a communication breakdown between us and the chief and it was looked into however we dropped it. I'm unsure of why Mayor Bartie is under that impression, I'm not sure where he got his information from," Johnson.
Benson told 12News that he was left blindsided by the decision. During his three years with the city Benson says he never faced disciplinary action and that Burton never told him he needed to reevaluate his leadership.
Mayor Bartie doesn't agree saying, "I think there were inferences that everything was not happening up to scale."
Benson says he has been given severance pay but has not taken it yet. He hasn't decided if he will take legal action against the city.
Deputy Chief Robert Havens has been appointed as interim. Bartie says the city has not discussed when they will hire a new chief.