Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters

05/23/2026

There has been continued public discussion about whether Mrs. Cathy Dodson participated in the Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters Association candidate process.

Recently, it was publicly claimed that this was a “fabrication” by Al Vitolo.

That is not accurate.

The issue is not whether Mrs. Dodson used a specific phrase such as, “I am asking for your endorsement.” The issue is whether she voluntarily participated in the WFPFFA candidate process used at that time, met with our members, and accepted consideration for support.

The documentation shows that she did.

The original scheduling conversation was with Mrs. Dodson’s campaign page from her prior campaign. That page has since been deleted. A later message from Mrs. Dodson’s personal account corroborates the meeting by acknowledging Bobby Whiteley being in the audience and referencing the association’s vote.

Mrs. Dodson was invited to participate, accepted the invitation, selected a time, requested the location, confirmed she would attend, appeared in association meeting records, and later acknowledged both the audience and the association’s vote.

That is not a personal attack. That is the record.

Candidates are free to oppose PACs, endorsements, or organized political support. But voters also deserve candor and consistency, especially when a candidate later describes those same types of processes as candidates being “bought,” “branded,” or controlled.

Public Texas Ethics Commission records also show Mrs. Dodson made monetary contributions to Wichita County Republican Women, a Texas Ethics Commission general-purpose committee, in 2024.

There is nothing wrong with citizens contributing to political committees. Mrs. Dodson has every right to participate politically, just as firefighters and other citizens do.

The issue is consistency.

A candidate should not participate in political committee activity, voluntarily participate in an endorsement process, and then later describe similar political activity as corruption, “branding,” or candidates being “bought” only when the support goes to someone else.

The same process cannot be harmless participation when a candidate wants to be heard, but corruption or “branding” when the support goes to someone else.

Fair questions are not harassment.

Candidate candor matters.

Accountability cannot be a one-way street.

The documentation is attached so people can review the record for themselves.

05/22/2026

As you head home and begin Memorial Day weekend, we hope everyone has a safe and meaningful few days with family and friends.

For many, this weekend marks the beginning of summer — cookouts, lake time, travel, rest, and time with the people we love. Those are good things, and we should enjoy them.

But Memorial Day is different.

This weekend exists because there are men and women who gave everything in service to this country. They gave up every future holiday, every family gathering, every ordinary day, and every moment we sometimes take for granted.

So as we enjoy the freedoms and blessings of this weekend, let us also pause and remember those who never made it home.

Their sacrifice is the reason this weekend has meaning.

From the Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters Association, we wish everyone a safe Memorial Day weekend.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

05/22/2026

The Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters Association is aware of a campaign post accusing our association and our president, Al Vitolo, of secretly running City Council, buying influence, hiding campaign contributions, and operating “behind the curtain.”

Those accusations are without merit, unsupported by evidence, and part of a repeated pattern of baseless claims made without proof.

The WFPFFA advocates publicly for firefighters, public safety, and the citizens we serve. Our political activity, endorsements, and public positions are not hidden. They are public advocacy.

If the WFPFFA or its president had the kind of power being alleged, we would not have to publicly advocate for firefighter staffing, fire station needs, equipment, training, public safety funding, and long-term planning. We would simply get everything done.

That is obviously not how city government works.

It is also worth noting that our president has been accused by name on a campaign page where he is personally blocked from responding. That does not reflect the kind of open dialogue or accountability residents deserve from someone asking to serve in public office.

There are documented answers to these repeated claims. We have chosen not to make every accusation a public fight because the real issues facing this city deserve better.

But restraint should not be confused with silence. If unsupported accusations continue to be repeated as fact, we are prepared to correct the record clearly, publicly, and with documentation.

The issue that started this discussion was public safety infrastructure, the City’s CO process, and Mrs. Dodson’s claim that east-side flood relief should have taken priority.

Flooding concerns on the east side are real, and those residents deserve serious attention, real answers, and results. That has never been in dispute.

But that raises fair questions for Mrs. Dodson as a candidate: what is her specific plan to deliver flood relief, what current project is ready to move forward, how would she fund it, what legal funding source would she use, and after years of publicly belittling and accusing current council members and city staff, how would she build the working relationships and council support needed to actually get that plan accomplished?

Residents deserve more than criticism of others. They deserve to know how a candidate would actually govern.

We support flood mitigation. We support public safety infrastructure. We support honest public discussion.

What we do not support is personal accusation being substituted for leadership.

05/22/2026

Friends and Family! Come join your Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters as we celebrate the ribbon cutting of Kelly Crush Memorial Park.

New sign reveal at 11am.

Join us as we celebrate Wichita Falls and the man that was Kelly Crush

05/21/2026

The Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters Association supports the City’s recent action to move forward with Certificates of Obligation for major public infrastructure needs, including public safety facilities.

This was not a new or sudden discussion. Public safety facility needs have been discussed publicly over time through committees, public meetings, budget discussions, and City Council action. The formal CO process also included public notice and multiple opportunities for review before final approval.

We believe that matters.

Transparency matters. Planning matters. Responsible financing matters. So does the willingness to address major infrastructure needs before they become even larger and more expensive problems.

While a significant portion of this package is dedicated to the new Police Department Headquarters and Municipal Court facility, we support that investment. Public safety is not limited to one department. Police and fire both serve the same citizens, and both depend on functional, modern facilities to provide the level of service Wichita Falls deserves.

The decision to renovate the former Kirby Junior High School into a public safety facility is also an example of responsible and innovative planning. Rather than moving forward with a much more expensive new-build option, the City found a way to meet a major public safety need at a fraction of the originally projected cost.

This package also includes the extensive renovation of Fire Station 4 on Missile Road. That project is important to Wichita Falls firefighters and should be viewed as a meaningful first step toward addressing aging fire facilities across our city.

Fire stations are 24-hour emergency response facilities. They house firefighters, apparatus, protective gear, medical equipment, and the tools needed to respond to citizens during emergencies. Investing in those facilities is an investment in firefighter safety, emergency response, and public service.

We also appreciate that the City has approached this financing with attention to existing savings, debt falling off, available funding support, and a shorter repayment structure designed to help secure better rates and reduce long-term costs.

For those reasons, the Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters Association supports this process and believes it is a responsible, strategic investment in the future of our city.

05/21/2026

Your Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters would like to encourage and remind all of our friends to get out and vote for Mark Dora for Wichita County Judge

He is the right choice!

05/18/2026

As we prepare for the official renaming of South Weeks Park to **Kelly Crush Memorial Park**, we have a special opportunity to honor Kelly’s legacy while supporting a cause that has always meant so much to firefighters.

We recently found a small number of **Kelly Crush challenge coins**, and we will be publicly auctioning **12 coins** to help kickstart this summer’s **MDA Fill the Boot campaign**.

These coins were originally sold for **$100** at past conventions, so we are setting the **minimum bid at $100**.

**Auction details:**

**12 Kelly Crush challenge coins available**
**Minimum bid: $100**
**Auction starts now**
**Auction ends at 5:00 PM on May 29**
**The highest 12 bids will each receive one coin**
**All proceeds go directly to MDA**

To bid, simply comment below with your bid amount.

Example:
**$125**

At 5:00 PM on May 29, the top 12 bids will win the 12 available coins. In the event of a tie for the final winning spot, the earliest comment will be honored first.

Payment must be received before coins are released. Shipping can be arranged at the winner’s expense.

Kelly Crush’s name, service, and impact continue to mean a great deal to Wichita Falls firefighters and to many across the IAFF, TSAFF, and labor family. This auction gives us a chance to honor that legacy while supporting the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the IAFF’s most recognized charitable partner and a cause firefighters have proudly supported for generations.

Let’s make these count. Let’s honor Kelly. Let’s support MDA. And let’s start this year’s Fill the Boot campaign strong.

Please share this post and help us get these coins in the hands of people who understand what they represent.

Edward A. Kelly
Michael Glynn, IAFF District 11 Vice President
11th District
Dystrophy Association
State Association of Fire Fighters

05/18/2026

Wichita Falls has real challenges. No serious person denies that.

We need to keep working on population growth, economic development, housing, infrastructure, public safety, quality of life, and opportunities for young families and professionals.

But we should also be honest about something else: Wichita Falls is moving in a better direction.

We are seeing stronger cooperation between city leadership, city departments, public safety, business leaders, civic organizations, and citizens who want this community to succeed. We are seeing serious conversations about redevelopment, new employers, future tax-base growth, and long-term planning. Those things matter.

Progress does not mean every problem is solved. It means people are working together to solve them.

The Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters Association believes in accountability. We believe in transparency. We believe in asking hard questions. But we also believe this city deserves better than constant negativity and the idea that every partnership, every endorsement, every civic organization, and every step forward must be treated as corrupt or suspicious.

Firefighters are not bystanders in this community. We live here, work here, raise families here, pay taxes here, and respond when our neighbors need help. We care deeply about the future of Wichita Falls.

That is why we engage. That is why we advocate. That is why we participate in local elections.

We will support candidates who we believe are serious about public safety, responsible growth, working relationships, and moving Wichita Falls forward.

Accountability matters.

Truth matters.

Progress matters too.

05/08/2026

The Wichita Falls Professional Fire Fighters Association and the Wichita Falls Association of Realtors have both endorsed Mark Dora for County Judge.

The men and women who run toward emergencies every day. The business community that knows what real leadership looks like. They both chose Mark Dora.

Election Day is Tue, May 26.

Polling locations can be found at wichitacountytx.com/vote

05/06/2026

**Statement from Al Vitolo, President of the Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters Association**

For a long time, I have chosen not to respond publicly to every false or inflammatory claim made online involving me, Wichita Falls firefighters, or the Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters Association.

That restraint should not be mistaken for admission, and professionalism should not be mistaken for weakness.

I have tried to meet disagreement with professionalism and courtesy, even when that same courtesy has not always been returned.

Let me be clear: I have never used fire department resources to harass or intimidate anyone. I have never directed anyone else to do so. Any claim suggesting otherwise is false.

A photo or video of a fire apparatus on a public street is not proof of harassment. Wichita Falls firefighters respond to emergency calls, train in assigned response areas, and move through the city as part of normal operations.

Fair questions are not harassment. Asking a candidate or public political figure about their public record, past participation in an endorsement process, or consistency between statements and actions is not an attack.

Accountability cannot be a one-way street.

The Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters Association will continue to advocate professionally and unapologetically for firefighters, public safety, and the citizens we serve. We will not engage in personal attacks. We will not chase every accusation online. But we also will not allow repeated false claims involving our firefighters, our members, or our association to be treated as truth simply because they are repeated often enough.

If public claims are made, fair questions are allowed. If someone wants to lead, they should be willing to answer them.