MEDINA COUNTY, Texas – A group of firefighters who served the City of Hondo for more than a century is now gone. Debates over funding, a fire chief and equipment left the Hondo Volunteer Fire Company with a big decision to make and now Medina County must pay for it.
115 years of service – now on pause.
The Hondo Volunteer Fire Company covered more than 500 square miles for 115 years, but not anymore. The end of the road comes after the HVFC President, Philip Batteau, said they couldn’t get on the same page as Medina County Emergency Services District 6 (ESD 6).
“It’s not money to us,” Batteau said. “It’s the stuff we need. It’s getting my firemen the gear they need.”
“This is taxpayers’ money we’re talking about,” Mark Blythe said.
Blythe is the president of Medina County’s ESD 6.
“So we look at that and we go through the budget and we make some changes and this year, we cut some stuff out that wasn’t necessary,” …