OCFR Battalion Chief Fired Over COVID Rules
Local News Staff 
An Orange County Fire Rescue battalion chief was fired Tuesday after he didn’t reprimand employees who failed to comply with Mayor Jerry Demings’ COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the agency said. His attorney said the decision has to do with the county’s rule to reprimand employees who don’t get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Stephen Davis, a veteran firefighter, held command of around 55 to 60 employees within OCFR as battalion chief.
"He has younger kids and this is a very abrupt change," his attorney, Rachel Rodriguez, said about his firing.
"He’s a great battalion chief, great firefighter. He served in the military. [He] was a combat medic in the military," said Orange County Firefighter Jason Wheat.
Wheat and Davis are both parties to an ongoing lawsuit against the county stated that the vaccine rules are unconstitutional.
Some elected officials pushed back against the firing, however, with State Representative Anthony Sabatini calling for the government and legislature to act.
