Austin firefighters will now be equipped with bulletproof vests

AFD receives bulletproof vests

Austin firefighters now have more protection on the job. Nearly 200 bulletproof vests are being rolled out. It is equipment the firefighters said is essential as they respond to more dangerous calls.

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin firefighters now have more protection on the job. 

Nearly 200 bulletproof vests are being rolled out. It is equipment the firefighters said is essential as they respond to more dangerous calls.

Bulletproof vests for Austin firefighters

What they're saying:

The bulletproof vests are a layer of protection for Austin firefighters. For the first time, all of them will have one.

"These are lightweight steel plate carriers. They're designed to defend against any pistol round and most rifle rounds, so high velocity rifle rounds," Austin Fire Department Captain Russ Howard said.

Captain Howard said the goal is simple: keep first responders safe so they can focus on saving others.

"It provides an additional means of protection for us so that if I'm going to help your mom, your dad, your sister, I don't have to worry about my personal safety as much, so I can outwardly focus and take care of the people that I'm there to help," Captain Howard said.

New bulletproof vests for first responders

First responders in Travis County can expect to see some upgrades. New funding means those first on scene will have access to bulletproof vests.

He said violence is on the rise and firefighters, paramedics, and police often arrive together at scenes. Now, they are equally protected.

"The problems that we're dealing with where we're going to need ballistic protection are rarely going to be solved by one agency. It's usually a chaotic and a very multifaceted event, and it's going to take us all working together to make that happen and having this puts us in the game, Captain Howard said.

Ashley Copeland with the Central Texas Public Safety Commission said this was a critical initiative to support.

"We heard that whenever our fire department and EMS were going out with our police department, a lot of them were feeling like they were in danger or approaching dangerous situations, and we knew that we needed to take action," Copeland said.

They gathered funds to make it happen.

"This is just a small way for us to be able to show them that we're behind them and that we're supporting them," Copeland said.

What's next:

By the end of this week, every Austin fire station will have these new vests on-hand and ready for the next call.

Austin-Travis County EMS has received around 90 vests, enough for all of their frontline ambulances to have two each.