Ruben Ramirez, who has served as a firefighter in Falfurrias for 20 years, has taken on a new role as the city's interim administrator after being appointed by city councilors.
"This is my community and my heart is in my community," Ramirez said.
The longtime fire chief initially declined the position when city officials approached him.
"They called me in and asked nicely if I would help them run the city for a few months," Ramirez said.
Despite his initial hesitation, Ramirez ultimately accepted the position, believing his connection to the community would be beneficial.
"In order to know the true meaning of what our community needs, it needs to come from someone from within the community. And I think that my heart has been there for my community for a long time. I've served my community," Ramirez said.
According to Ramirez, the city is in dire need of change, and he feels prepared to handle the pressure, drawing on his experience from the fire station.
A few months ago, Falfurrias firefighters faced issues with the city regarding fire hydrants. Many were broken, and firefighters were told they couldn't open the hydrants without city notification.
"The issue was never the fire hydrants. The issue was more political. And I think that politics have been moved aside and now - our new council and our new mayor has put the community first. That's not going to be an issue for a fire hydrant or anything else," Ramirez said.
Just a few weeks into his new position, Ramirez acknowledges the difficulties ahead.
"I can tell you that it's been a tough challenge and there's a lot more challenges up ahead. And some very difficult decisions that need to be made, but I think we're going to be okay. Now that we have a heart back in our community- we're going to move in the right direction," Ramirez said.
Ramirez also hopes to build greater trust with local residents.
"The community comes first and that's the bottom line," Ramirez said.
Ramirez plans to return to the fire station once the mayor appoints a permanent city administrator.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today!
