NUECES COUNTY, Texas — Lloyd Bluntzer, the former fire chief of Nueces County Emergency Services District No. 4, is publicly disputing the findings of a recent forensic audit, claiming board members who purchased military surplus vehicles knew the rules and are now trying to shift blame.
The audit, released earlier this year, found questionable sales of Humvees to board members and noted missing equipment. In his first interview since the audit's release, Bluntzer refuted both points.
Bluntzer, who served as chief for 31 years, was dismissed alongside his wife, Diana, who served as the district's EMS director, in January 2024. He said he has not spoken to any board members since.
The audit highlighted that board President Geoff Atwood and Treasurer Paul Swetish purchased Humvees from the district in potential violation of federal surplus property rules. Bluntzer claims the board members initiated the purchases.
When KRIS 6 spoke with current Fire Chief Michael Clack on Sept. 11, he said he was not concerned with the Humvee purchases but rather missing items. "We know that that stuff was not stolen and it's missing. There was some misleading done," Clack told KRIS 6 at the time. "And that they thought it was OK."
Speaking with KRIS 6 on Friday, Bluntzer responded, “Well, for starters, it looked like they were trying to say that I had coerced them into buying these things, which makes no sense to me."
“Actually, Geoff called me one day and told me that Paul had been up at the surplus in San Antonio and they had a lot of Hummers up there," Bluntzer alleged. "He wanted me to get him and Paul a Hummer each.”
Bluntzer asserted that Atwood and Swetish, both former fire chiefs themselves, were already familiar with the rules. “They’ve been through the surplus system, they know how it works, but they tried to say that they were misled and made it sound like it was me misleading. And that’s just outright lie.”
Bluntzer also expressed regret for his role in acquiring the Humvees. “I wouldn't have done this Hummer thing. I should have just quit, because that's pretty much what it was. I was gonna get them Hummers or I was gonna get fired."
Bluntzer also claims the "missing" items were never lost. He said a list of unaccounted-for items was circulated among firefighters after his dismissal, and he immediately provided their locations.
“We (Clack and Bluntzer) went over all the items that were on there and they were all accounted for. I told them where everything was,” Bluntzer said.
He explained that much of the equipment was stored at his property, a practice he said was longstanding due to his better workshop facilities and limited funds at the station.
He said the items were supposed to be retrieved after his termination but weren't. Bluntzer stated that he informed Clack of the items' locations in July 2023 and that firefighters recently retrieved the last of the containers.
“The items that were said in the audit that were unaccounted for, they were, they were accounted for a year ago in July,” Bluntzer said. “So that was another lie so I’m not sure what they’re trying to do.”
Bluntzer acknowledged, however, he did not respond to the auditor's attempts to interview him, saying he felt enough time had passed since his firing. He now says he would have done the interview “because they’ve tried to turn it on us what they did wrong.”
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