Multiple Austin fire trucks do not have working air conditioning, leaving firefighters sweltering in heat
AUSTIN, Texas - More than a dozen Austin fire trucks that are used daily are without working air conditioning. It is an issue AFD has been dealing with since the beginning of June.
"We still do have some trucks that do not have functioning air conditioning, and it's a lot when our firefighters are going out fighting fires, fighting grass fires, fighting the building fires, being out on the highway with traffic incidents all day long, and then with our units not having air conditioning, that they're spending a lot of time in, that just adds to the overall heat problem that we have," said Mark Bridges, shift commander for AFD.
Out of 100 Austin Fire Department frontline and reserve trucks, around 17 do not have functioning air conditioning.
"As they are working on these incidents for hours at a time, they're sweating, they're overheating, and we have some measures in place to keep our firefighters rested and rotated and hydrated, but we're pushing those limits as we continue to work in this hot city," said Bridges.
It is an issue city officials say they are working on. In a memo, Director of Fleet Mobility Services Jennifer Walls says they are prioritizing fixing those trucks in a way that does not disturb operational needs for AFD.
"Fleet Services is coordinating closely with the AFD fleet management team to prioritize scheduling these vehicles for repair while still meeting the operational needs of the Fire Department for these units," she wrote in the memo to the mayor and council.
The memo comes after council member Mackenzie Kelly wrote a letter to Interim City Manager Jesus Garza about the situation after learning about it herself. She says after digging into the issue, she discovered the fleet department is short-staffed, which is adding to the delay in fixing the trucks.
"I'm not trying to place fault anywhere. I want to find out what resources the different departments need in order to make this happen. We're in the middle of the summer. We have had unprecedented triple digit heat, and I want to make sure that our workers who we ask to go out on the hottest days of the year are in an environment where they're not going to be in some kind of medical emergency because they don't have the respite they need," said council member Kelly.
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City officials say fixing the trucks with no A/C is an ongoing process.
Fleet services plans to work with AFD to avoid another future issue like this again:
- Institute an AC inspection program to be performed annually by AFD in late winter or early spring.
- Establish protocols for the prompt reporting of air conditioning failures to the Fleet Services Department.
- Work with manufacturers to identify and improve air conditioning specifications. Provide customer departments with safe and reliable mobile solutions in a timely, cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner to ensure the continuity of city services to our citizens.
- Provide more education to fire crews on capacities and expectations of AC units in trucks and how to maximize efficiency.
"We're very appreciative of that, and it's something that we've known for a while, and we've made it known to them, and we are very appreciative that they are working with us," said Bridges.