Although already required by national fire safety regulations, four-person staffing on all fire engines is now required by an Austin city ordinance following City Council action Dec. 13.
The Austin Fire Department has required constant four-person staffing consistently since 2012 to align with the National Fire Protection Association’s standards. Austin City Council passed a resolution that aimed to boost minimum fire engine staffing from three to four; however, it never made it to the city’s books as a law, which District 5 Council Member Ann Kitchen sought to change.
In order to avoid tying the hands of the fire chief or city manager in unforeseen situations, City Council added language that would except “rare” and “catastrophic” events, such as wildfires.