Historic Snowstorm Sends TX Firefighters on Nearly 1,900 Calls

Austin firefighters on Monday answered nearly 1,900 requests for service in Travis County, including calls involving vehicle crashes, downed power lines and broken pipes, after a dangerous winter storm dumped more than half a foot of snow across parts of Central Texas.

Firefighters respond to an average of 500 calls for service in a 24-hour period, Austin Fire Department officials said. But after the historic snowfall in Austin late Sunday, firefighters on Monday — just in the 12 hours from noon until midnight — responded to 1,890 calls.

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Almost 1,600 of those calls were In the city of Austin and included:

• 466 calls about broken water pipes
• 80 calls for traffic rescues and collisions
• 50 calls after fire alarms were activated
• 40 calls to assist the public (including removing downed trees)
• 3 calls about downed lines or arcing wires
• 3 calls for fires

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