MEMORANDUM

TO: Mayor and Council

FROM: Jennifer Walls, Director, Fleet Mobility Services Department

THROUGH: Ed Van Eenoo, Chief Finance Officer

DATE: July 26, 2023

SUBJECT: Air Conditioning Repair in Fire Apparatus

I am writing to provide information regarding Austin Fire Department apparatus that are currently without
functioning air conditioning.

The Austin Fire Department’s (AFD) vehicular fleet consists of 397 units, including fire apparatus, boats, and
numerous other types of vehicles critical to the mission. This memorandum focuses on AFD’s engine and
ladder/quint fleet.

First and foremost, all vehicles require regular maintenance during their lifetime. Fire apparatus must be
available at all times to protect the residents of Austin; therefore, a reserve fleet is maintained. Reserve
vehicles are pulled into service when a frontline unit is down. AFD maintains approximately one reserve
vehicle for every two frontline aerials and one reserve unit for every three frontline engines. Pulling a unit
out of service for repair is a highly choreographed maneuver that requires coordination by both Fleet and
AFD to ensure residents in the response area of that station are not at risk of delayed emergency services.

Fleet builds its maintenance strategy around the status of the frontline and reserve ratios and prioritizes
maintaining that line above all else. Working in collaboration with AFD, Fleet works to keep critical
apparatus in service while prioritizing the health and safety of our firefighters as well as all fellow City
employees.

Out of approximately 100 frontline and reserve apparatus, 17 units are currently operating without properly
functioning air conditioning. 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.

Repairing air conditioning and other mechanical failures on these vehicles is a continual process. To help
lower the number of future air conditioning failures, Fleet Services, in collaboration with AFD, will
undertake the following initiatives:
• 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 more education to fire crews on capacities and expectations of AC units in trucks and how
to maximize efficiency.

If you have any questions about the contents of this memorandum, please contact me at
Jennifer.Walls@austintexas.gov.

cc: Jesús Garza, Interim City Manager

Bruce Mills, Interim Assistant City Manager
Chief Joel Baker, Austin Fire Department

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.