Austin Fire Chief Joel G. Baker is retiring on Aug. 31. He will be unavailable and out of the office starting Aug. 11, the city announced Tuesday.

The city and the fire department declined to give a reason for Baker’s departure.

Tom Vocke will step in as the acting fire chief effective Tuesday, according to a city memo. He will hold the interim position starting Sept. 1.

Baker joined the Austin Fire Department in December 2018 after retiring from Atlanta’s Fire and Rescue Department. He was Austin’s first African-American fire chief. Baker worked for 30 years in Atlanta and also served as the fire chief in his last three years there, according to his LinkedIn.

“We will miss Chief Baker and his ever-present positive attitude,” Vocke wrote in an internal email to the fire department. “He has been known to say, ‘Every day is a holiday. Every meal is a banquet. Every payday is a fortune.’ We wish him a retirement filled with holidays, banquets and fortunes.”

The city is now launching a nationwide search for Baker’s replacement.

“The recruitment process will be designed to attract highly qualified candidates with demonstrated experience leading modern fire and emergency services,” Vocke said in the memo. “Additional information on the search process and timeline will be provided as it becomes available.”

During Baker’s time as Austin’s fire chief, he led the Austin Fire Department through the COVID pandemic, implemented mental health assessments for firefighters during annual medical exams and opened five new stations in six years, according to the press release.

In 2025, the Austin Firefighters Union approved a vote of no confidence in Baker after his response to the historic floods in the Hill Country. 93% of the union’s 993 members supported the resolution, as previously reported by KUT.