Orange County battalion chief fired for not enforcing vaccine mandate defends his decision

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Channel 9 spoke one-on-one with the former Orange County battalion chief at the heart of a new battle over the county’s vaccine mandate.

Stephen Davis refused to discipline firefighters who didn’t get the vaccine, and he said he is confident with his decision.

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He said the list he was given of unvaccinated firefighters to write up was not updated and the discipline was unlawful.

Davis said he would have eventually followed the order to discipline unvaccinated firefighters if the list was updated, but never got the chance. He was immediately relieved to duty, and out of a job within two weeks.

READ: Orlando fire chief resigns 2 months after suspension due to arrest

He wasn’t terminated for not getting a vaccine, but for not following orders, which makes his fight to get his job back tricky.

His firing was for insubordination and disobeying a direct order.

READ: Mayor says Orange County will ‘aggressively defend’ vaccine mandate in court after firefighter fired

Davis turned in his gear on Friday.

“It wasn’t something I anticipated doing,” Davis said. “I didn’t think I would have to turn my gear in for another 11 years. It was hard.”

Davis said he feels like he was fired as an example to others.

READ: ‘Totally inappropriate’: DeSantis pushes back after Orange County battalion chief fired

On Monday, he will meet with the union that will be in charge of filing a grievance to try and get his job back. That grievance has to be filed by Friday.

Video: Orange County battalion chief fired for failing to enforce vaccine mandate An Orange County Fire Rescue battalion chief lost his job after failing to write up employees who did not comply with the county’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. (Christy Turner, WFTV.com)

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