A former Pipe Creek firefighter told a local television station that he was ordered to pick up equipment instead of respond to a water rescue incident where a decorated U.S. Marine drowned.
Jeremiah Trombly was driving a rescue truck on a mutual aid call to Bandera City Park on June 8 where retired Master Sgt. Rodney Buentello was trapped by raging water in a dam after rescuing two teenagers.
Chief Brandon Lee radioed Trombly, who was seven minutes from the scene, to return to the station and pick up a boat instead of bringing water rescue equipment to the scene, according to an investigation by KSAT.
"Operationally, it made no sense," Trombly told the television station about the orders he received from the fire chief.
"I don't typically question orders," Trombly said. "If he wants me to go back and get a piece of equipment, I'm going to go back and get it."
He estimated that the process of picking up the boat added 10 minutes to the response time.
Following the June 8 incident, Trombly resigned as president of the fire department board and as a firefighter. He said he was concerned about the way the department operated.
He told the reporter that Lee did not sign off on water rescue training that was paid for by state training grants.
Buentello received two Purple Hearts before he retired from the Marines.
The two teenagers that Buentello rescued were injured, but recovered.
