Fleet Mobility Services working to fix air conditioning in fire trucks

In late July, City Council Member Mackenzie Kelly wrote a memo pointing out that 20 trucks within the Austin Fire Department’s fleet “are currently lacking functioning air conditioning systems.” Not only is that a risk for firefighters, she wrote, but it also “jeopardizes the department’s ability to respond effectively to emergencies.”

On Monday, Rick Harland, assistant director for Fleet Mobility Services, told the Council Public Safety Committee that his service crews were working hard to address the problem as quickly as possible. He said the fleet repair team completed 39 air conditioner repairs in fire trucks in June and another 30 in July.

The typical monthly average for fire truck A/C repairs is 18, Harland said, with the summer average at 27. He also told the committee that June’s number is about 34 percent higher than in years past. He noted that air conditioning problems appear to be underreported in the months leading up to June.

There are an estimated 93 engines, ladders, backup reserve vehicles and rescue vehicles in the department’s fleet, according to data provided by Bob Nicks, president of the Austin Firefighters Association.

Fleet Mobility Services has assembled a repair staff that goes to fire stations to see whether there are problems that can be fixed easily, Harland told the committee. He noted that the mechanics assigned to work on Austin Fire Department and Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services vehicles were the most experienced. He said that highly experienced mechanics were needed to do that work, because fire trucks and EMS vehicles are the most complicated.

A schedule has been established for repairing the backlog, Harland said.

He said he was urging a committee within the Fire Department to consider purchasing additional aerial equipment, which generally includes a hydraulically operated ladder. Currently, he said, Austin Fire Department has a reserve fleet, but it does not include aerial equipment. He noted that vendors have come up with an enhanced HVAC system, which he has not yet seen. In addition, he said the department needs to find a way to cover fire vehicles so that they do not reach such high temperatures.

Harland also told the committee that Fleet Mobility Services and Austin Fire Department are working to make firefighters aware that they should report any problems with air conditioning as soon as they come up. He called it a seasonal awareness campaign to make sure all the vehicles are ready to go out in the summer or winter.

Harland and Fire Chief Joel Baker both spoke with the Austin Monitor after the meeting. Harland said there are currently 15 fire trucks still needing A/C repairs. He said the Fire Department would benefit from having two aerial reserve engines.

Baker said he hopes to continue to tackle air conditioning problems this fall, not waiting for spring when people would normally begin to think about it. “I have full faith and confidence in (Fleet Mobility Services) that we’re going to get this under control,” he said.

But the Fire Department is not alone in having air conditioning problems in its vehicles. Last week during a budget meeting, Council Member Vanessa Fuentes asked about air conditioning for Austin Resource Recovery vehicles. Jennifer Walls, director of Fleet Mobility Services, said the city is “experiencing a number of air conditioning failures in our (Austin Resource Recovery) vehicles. With (those) trucks, they are put in extreme duty, more than fire trucks. Our trucks put on 50 percent more miles … far beyond the scope of what those trucks are designed to do.”

Walls noted that one possible strategy would be to add a second air conditioner to the trucks.

Photo by J.Köster, made available through Creative Commons license, via Wikimedia Commons.

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