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Lacy Lakeview officials failed to comply with guidelines before fire training
By Bobby Poitevint,
2024-06-17
The Lacy Lakeview Fire Department and City Manager Calvin Hodde did not follow state guidelines before starting a live burn exercise last month,according to a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality investigative report.
The new four page report said the outdoor burning is in violation of the Texas Administrative Code for failure to obtain proper authorization before starting the live fire training.
The Lacy Lakeview Fire Department was issued a violation for this.
The report says the owner of the home that was set on fire for the training, Lacy Lakeview City Manager Calvin Hodde, will be issued a violation for unauthorized disposal of waste.
The report also says the burn pile contained unauthorized material including assorted metals, paint cans, carpet, vehicle rims and household appliances.
TCEQ say they informed Fire Chief Adrian Huff of the “outstanding violation” and outdoor burn rules for the State of Texas regarding fire trainings and they said "he understood.”
25 News reached out to Chief Huff Monday, but we have not received an immediate response back.
“If anyone thinks they can do better, Mayor and Mr. Bush, we have the applications — we’re more than welcome to apply," said Lt. Matthew Young with the Lacy Lakeview Fire Department during last week's city council meeting.
It was John and Susan May’s home that was damaged — we spoke to their daughter Brandy Zinz about the report.
She told 25News' Bobby Poitevint that “it pretty much verified what we had thought".
She said they did not initiate the TCEQ investigation — she ays the family is thankful that others are showing support for them.
“It lets us know too that people actually care and are in our corner," Brandy said.
Brandy says no repairs have been done as they are in limbo right now, and continue to work with the family’s insurance company.
25 News also reached out to Calvin Hodde for comment, but an automatic email reply says he’s out of the office until Thursday.
The May family filed an arson charge with the Lacy Lakeview Police Department on May 22, just three days after their home was damaged.
In the report, Lacy Lakeview police reached out to the State Fire Marshal's Office and the case was passed off to them due to a "conflict of interest."
On Monday, 25 News eached out to the State Fire Marshall's office to get an update but we have not heard back.
You can read the full report — it's attached below.
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