AUSTIN (KXAN) — Some Austinites received a text message paid for by the Austin Firefighters Public Safety Fund last week, asking residents to email city council through its Austin Safety First website.
KXAN confirmed that message was sent by the Austin Firefighters Association through its special purpose political action committee (PAC), called the Austin Firefighters Public Safety Fund. The website is also operated by the association.
“Austin’s City Manager and Fire Chief Are Threatening You Family’s Safety — TAKE ACTION NOW” that text message reads. “For years, when Austinites called 911 a fully staffed crew of at least FOUR Austin firefighters arrived — ready to risk everything to keep you and your family safe.”
Austin Firefighters Association President Chief Bob Nicks said the first batch of text messages was sent to a relatively small group of active Austin voters. He said the response was significant, garnering more than 1,000 email responses.
Nicks said the PAC will likely send that message to a wider net moving forward, depending on city council discussions over the next few days and weeks.
What’s going on with firefighter staffing?
The text message refers to a budget proposal being discussed now that could eliminate a fire staffing requirement put in place years ago.
In 2018, Austin City Council approved an ordinance that requires a four-person staffing minimum in all fire vehicles responding to emergency calls. Due to significant constraints in the budget this year, city financial staff is proposing eliminating that standard in some cases.
In a statement, City Manager TC Broadnax made a distinction between different types of firefighting apparatus, saying the new staffing proposal would only impact engines, which carry water tanks and hoses. It would not impact ladder trucks (equipped with an extendable ladder for operating at elevated heights), quints (trucks that can perform the roles of both an engine and ladder truck) and rescues (which carry specialized equipment for rescue operations beyond firefighting, such as tools for vehicle extrications, hazardous materials response and water rescues).
“This adjustment will allow the City of Austin to staff appropriately, making the best use of taxpayer dollars, while maintaining the Austin Fire Department’s exceptional level of service and ensuring firefighters can reduce work-week hours to improve their work/life balance and emotional and physical wellbeing,” Broadnax said.
Firefighters association says change is dangerous
A couple hundred Austin firefighters showed up at City Hall last week to urge city council to prioritize public safety in its upcoming budget, and specifically raised concerns about that proposed staffing change.
International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) General President Edward Kelly was also present at the event. He, too, is warning about the dangers of changing minimum staffing levels.
“Cutting corners on firefighter staffing has deadly consequences,” said an IAFF news release. “Kelly just returned from Fall River, Massachusetts, where a massive fire at an assisted living facility claimed the lives of 10 of its residents. Following this tragedy, Fall River agreed to increase firefighter staffing.”
The ordinance passed in 2018 said the city of Austin looked at numerous staffing studies, including one done in Austin, which shows “four-person firefighter staffing has a positive impact on safety and efficiency during Fire Department operations.”
“We’ve just started the budget process with the manager’s base proposal last week, and I understand the union’s disagreement with the manager. The next few weeks will offer the opportunity to evaluate this recommendation, as well as numerous others, and make final determinations,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said last week.