Fire

Austin ranks 5th in major cities vulnerable to wildfires

Those who were in Austin in 2011 remember the tragic wildfires that hit Bastrop, Steiner Ranch and Spicewood that summer. The fires collectively burned through thousands of acres of land and destroyed over a thousand homes. “You can still drive…

Fire • By Katy McAfee, KUT News • Jan 17, 2025

Firefighters call for more cadets to address safety, mental health needs

The Austin Firefighters Association is seeking more attention to the safety issues facing its membership, which were discussed in part last week during City Council budget sessions. The AFA had planned to hold a press conference Monday to publicize issues…

Budget • By Chad Swiatecki • Jul 30, 2024

City honors AFD’s work training firefighters for wildland-urban fires

Throughout her time on the dais, District 10 City Council Member Alison Alter has stressed the need for the city to understand and prepare to fight wildfires in the wildland-urban interface, or WUI, which is the area between unoccupied land…

Fire • By Jo Clifton • Jul 23, 2024

Rules on firefighters’ pension fund are likely to change

At last week’s meeting of City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee, chair Alison Alter thanked city staff for their work over the past several years to ensure a sound pension system for all three sets of city retirees – police,…

Fire • By Jo Clifton • May 14, 2024

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AFD narrows its wildfire preparedness focus on Eastern Crescent

Ahead of national Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on May 4, the Public Safety Commission this week heard an update on how Austin is faring with its own community readiness efforts. The good news is that Austin leads the state in…

Fire • By Amy Smith • Apr 4, 2024

Council OKs contract for new AI wildfire tool

City Council on Thursday approved negotiation and execution of a contract for what Austin Energy describes as a powerful new tool to aid the utility in wildfire detection and response. The utility says it will use Pano AI technology to…

Fire • By Jo Clifton • Oct 6, 2023

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City continues to work on wildfire mitigation strategies

The public may not have noticed, but Austin-Travis County had 963 different brush and grass fire alarms in September, Assistant Fire Chief Andre de la Reza told members of the city’s Public Safety Commission on Monday. The department was able…

Fire • By Jo Clifton • Oct 5, 2023

Austin firefighters have new contract in place

After years of heated negotiations, and about a year without a contract in place, Austin firefighters finally have an agreement with the city in place. The contract, which is effective immediately, comes from an three-member arbitration panel. Unlike a normal…

Fire • By Elizabeth Pagano • Sep 11, 2023

Austin firefighters contract to be decided by binding arbitration

Austin Firefighters Association President Bob Nicks has made no secret of how angry he is with city negotiators. The union and those negotiators could not reach an agreement on a labor contract, and the matter must now be decided at…

Fire • By Jo Clifton • Aug 15, 2023

Here's what you should do if a wildfire threatens your home

Lee esta historia en español Dry grass, wind and relatively low humidity mean a fire can spread easily and be difficult to control. All it takes is a spark from a metal lawnmower blade hitting a rock, a loose chain…

Fire • By Sangita Menon, KUT • Aug 11, 2023

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…

Fire • By Jo Clifton • Aug 8, 2023

Fire chief says more firefighters and bigger budget needed

In a memo dated June 12, Austin Fire Chief Joel Baker gave Mayor Kirk Watson and City Council his proposed road map for reducing overtime expenditures in the department, and it involves a bigger budget and more firefighters. Baker was…

Fire • By Jo Clifton • Jun 14, 2023