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AFD is comprised of several major sections and divisions: Operations (personnel at fire stations); Support Services; Aircraft Firefighting and Rescue; Communications; Maintenance Shops; Medical Operations; Emergency Prevention (includes prevention engineers, inspectors, and investigators); Professional Standards; Community Outreach (Recruiting and Public Education); Safety; Special Operations; and Education Services.

AFD is also a leader in the industry in such areas as planning and research, including fire tactics research; the LBJ High School Fire Academy; cadet education and training; wellness/fitness; safety; and arson arrests.

The Austin Fire Department has a collective bargaining agreement with the Austin Firefighters’ Association/Local 975. A new agreement is negotiated every three years.

In addition to fire suppression, AFD is the city's first responder in medical emergencies, meaning firefighters arrive on the scene and begin patient assessment and stabilization, usually before the arrival of the ambulance. All firefighters are certified as Emergency Medical Technicians-B. Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services is a separate City department with paramedics who perform advanced life support and do patient transport.

AFD facilities currently include 43 active fire stations plus an Aircraft Firefighting/Rescue station at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, and seven office sites. There are more than 1,000 firefighters in the department as well as approximately 60 civilians (non-civil service) employees, functioning in professional, administrative, and support roles.

Operations personnel make up most of the department. Firefighters in the field work 24 hours on, 48 hours off, and change shifts at noon. The shifts are divided into A, B, and C shifts. The team assigned to a particular apparatus (engine, truck, or rescue unit) and the apparatus itself is known as a "company."

All firefighter cadets go through a 24-week Training Academy. The course includes intense physical training, as well as a challenging academic program. Medical training makes up more than 200 hours of the coursework. To graduate, all must pass state-administered exams and be certified as EMTs and firefighters. The Austin Fire Department's Training Academy is one of the most rigorous in the country and has one of the highest graduation rates in the state.

AFD dispatchers work at the same location as the City's 9-1-1 operators, APD, EMS, and Travis County Sheriff dispatchers. There are four to six dispatchers on duty at any one time; they work shifts of 24 hours on, 72 hours off.

Fire stations have assigned "still alarm" territories -- the area to which they respond if only one unit is required, such as a medical call or alarm activation. They are also assigned a larger area know as their "box alarm" territory. A "box" is a geographic area; there are several boxes within each battalion or district. A "box alarm" is a structure fire, to which three engines, two trucks, a rescue unit, and a battalion chief are assigned. A "heavy box" signals that the structure is a multi-family housing unit or a commercial building; the units assigned to that type of alarm are the same as for a box alarm. A second alarm normally is called when companies arrive at a heavy box alarm and find significant fire showing; the number of units assigned to the scene jumps to 17. Each additional alarm brings approximately three more companies to the event.

Other types of alarms to which AFD responds include: rescue alarms, hazardous conditions (spill or leak of a potentially hazardous substance), hazmat alarms, technical rescues (situations requiring high-angle or confined-space rescues), and grass/brush alarms.

Companies responding to emergency calls go "Code 3" with lights and sirens; if there is no immediate danger or hazard, they respond "Code 1" without lights or sirens.

AFD also provides "mutual aid" response to areas outside the city limits when requested by the fire departments in that jurisdiction. Those departments, mostly volunteer, also provide mutual aid to AFD, usually on brush fires in outlying areas of the city.

THE RANK STRUCTURE
The rank structure is as follows (in ascending order): Firefighter, Fire Specialist, Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief, Division Chief, Assistant Chief, and Fire Chief. Cadets are those currently in the Training Academy; upon graduation, they become probationary firefighters for six months. Promotions to all ranks below Battalion Chief are decided strictly by scores on written exams. Promotions above Battalion Chief are made at the discretion of the Fire Chief.

In the field, a Lieutenant is in charge of the engine; this is the first supervisory rank. In a single-company station, he/she is in charge of the station. A Captain is in charge of a ladder truck or rescue unit. In a multi-company station, he/she is in charge of the station. There are also Lieutenants and Captains assigned to staff positions (working 40 hours per week in an office).

The city is divided into six battalions (five are geographic districts; one consists of AFD's four "Special Operations" stations). There is a Battalion Chief in charge of all pf the stations/personnel in each battalion on that shift. Battalion Chiefs are also assigned to staff positions, such as Safety, Education Services, Prevention, and Professional Standards. All chiefs (all levels) wear white shirts when in uniform.

The Division Chief is in charge of all of the Operations personnel/stations in the city on that shift. There are three Division Chiefs (one for each shift), as well as one Special Operations Division Chief.

Four Assistant Chiefs are appointed from within the department by the Fire Chief. The Fire Chief is appointed by the City Manager and approved by the City Council.