AUSTIN, Texas — On Monday, Austin's Public Safety Committee met for a briefing and discussion about the maintenance of air conditioning systems on Austin Fire Department (AFD) trucks. Some firefighters are still working in trucks that don't have air conditioning.
This issue was first reported in June when Central Texas began experiencing triple-digit heat. The AFD's Fleet Operations Department said 21 of the department's 250 fire vehicles don't have working air conditioning but are still being used to respond to fires.
Mayor Kirk Watson and Councilmember Mackenzie Kelly (District 6) backed the issue in Monday afternoon's meeting. In a July memo, Kelly stated the lack of air conditioning in some trucks poses a significant health and safety risk to Austin firefighters and jeopardizes the AFD's ability to respond effectively to emergences.
In the same memo, Kelly asked Interim City Manager Jesús Garza to present a report on the steps being taken to address this issue and to make that report available to the public.
Bob Nicks, president of the Austin Fire Association, said firefighters' gear can weigh up to 100 pounds, even comparing it to wearing a snowsuit. He reiterated the need for working air conditioning in the trucks.
"Air conditioning is not out of the question when its 105 degrees out. There is just no excuse for it. It's very important to keep the firefighters as cool as possible before they [go] to call and [to be able to] cool off at a place after the call," Nicks said.
Mechanics with the AFD's Feet Department are notified by the AFD to fix the trucks. The department is working on trucks two at a time.
At the Public Safety Committee meeting on Monday, AFD's operations manager explained that A/C outages have been underreported. He said the department made 39 A/C repairs in June – up from last year. But he said that's because outages were not reported in the previous months, causing a backlog of repairs. The historical trend shows there are fewer repairs overall.