Orange County Fire Rescue Chief Anthony Rios has resigned from his position, effective this Friday, just over a year after stepping into the role.
The news follows a statement Rios made during the county’s recent budget work sessions, in response to questions from District 3 commissioner and mayoral candidate Mayra Uribe about where fleet purchases were accounted for within the department’s budget.
“Don’t you have a new car, too?” Uribe asked Rios on July 15.
“I do not,” Rios said, chuckling slightly.
“Okay, I saw somebody had new ones. I don’t know where I saw it,” Uribe said. “So I’m just trying to see where actual fleet purchases are within your budget.”
In a phone interview Tuesday afternoon, Uribe said her questioning of Rios was motivated by her interest in seeing union-represented firefighters receive several years of backpay that they’re owed. Those firefighters now finally have a new contract in effect, after more than three years of stalled negotiations between the county and union.
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“My question was more geared to prioritizing the back pay for the firefighters that have been waiting for months, and just realizing that that was a priority over buying new cars for the county,” Uribe said. “I never expected to be given a — not an accurate answer. And so when that happened, it just — it really left me surprised.”
Uribe said she did not expect Rios to be dishonest with her — or for him to resign, following the back-and-forth.
“I just would have assumed that he would have apologized, corrected it, and we would have moved forward,” Uribe said. “He's been with Orange County for a long time. And that was nowhere on my radar, that that would have taken place."
In his resignation letter, Rios addressed his response to Uribe’s question.
“Although the purchase complied with all county procurement policies and procedures, my response did not fully communicate the complete context and, as a result, could only be perceived as inaccurate,” Rios wrote. “As Fire Chief, I understand that intent does not diminish impact, and I accept full responsibility for my words.”
Rios said his time serving as fire chief had been “the greatest honor” of his career.
Mayor Jerry Demings appointed Rios to the fire chief position in April of last year, and he formally stepped into the role the following June. Before then, Rios spent 24 years working for the department, beginning in 2000 as a firefighter/paramedic.
