Keller, Westlake let agreement to merge fire departments expire

“Throughout this 16-month agreement, we dropped the boundaries between the two cities to serve our residents and realized some better response times,” the email stated. “We also trained together, shared a fire chief who modeled the servant-leadership style, and learned that we were stronger together and provided better service to both communities.”

With new members being added to Westlake Town Council and the Westlake town manager resigning last month, Hafner stated in the newsletter that this was not the right time to merge.

Keller Deputy Fire Chief Shane Gainer is serving as interim fire chief while the human resources department conducts a nationwide search for the city’s next fire chief, according to Reyna and Hafner.

In the short term, the main difference in cost for the city of Keller is the salary for the new fire chief, according to Reyna and Hafner.

Westlake Town Council decided to table discussions on the fire department merger until its Aug. 29 meeting, according to Westlake Communications Manager Erin Spicer.

At the time, the agreement was signed in 2021; Keller had 57 employees operating out of three stations; and Westlake had 18 employees who operated out of a single fire station.

The Keller Fire Department responded to 4,268 calls for service in 2021, according to Reyna and Hafner.

Keller and Westlake will continue to share other services. The Northeast Tarrant Communications Center, which is based in Keller, serves Keller, Westlake, Southlake and Colleyville. In addition, the town of Westlake has a contract with the Keller Police Department to provide police service and animal control services.