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San Antonio fire data show slight rise in incidents; response times inch shorter, council seeks deeper local maps
Summary
Fire department presented FY24--FY26 response and incident trends to the Public Safety Committee, reporting a roughly 2.5% rise in incidents year-over-year, steady improvements in average and 90th-percentile response times, and district-level pressure points; councilmembers requested heat maps and transport details for follow-up.
The San Antonio Public Safety Committee on Thursday reviewed fire department performance metrics showing an increase in overall incident volume and modest improvements in response times. Fire department leadership told the panel that incidents rose from about 247,000 in fiscal year 2024 to about 253,000 in fiscal year 2025, an increase of roughly 2.5 percent, and that fiscal year 2026 year-to-date activity is trending ahead of prior years.
The chief presented the operational picture and said medical calls continue to drive demand, representing roughly 78 to 80 percent of all incidents. He noted citywide average response time improved from 8 minutes, 38 seconds in FY25 to 8 minutes, 32 seconds in FY26 year-to-date, and the 90th-percentile response time improved from 12 minutes, 39 seconds to 12 minutes, 27 seconds.
Committee members pressed for more localized data. Councilman Castillo asked for a breakdown of the mobile integrated health (MIH) team's workload and trends in overdose-related calls; the chief agreed to provide detailed MIH trends and a district heat map. Councilwoman Spears and others queried why nonmedical response times were consistently faster than EMS times; the chief and staff explained that nonmedical responses are typically fire apparatus, of which there are more units spread across the city, while EMS relies on a smaller fleet (36 full-time ambulances), which affects availability and travel times.
Members also requested more detail on ‘‘lift assist’’ incidents and how often those events result in transport to hospitals, and they asked for data indicating whether structure fires involved vacant or abandoned buildings. The chief said those are follow-up items staff will provide offline.
The presentation included a geographic breakout showing Districts 12 and 5 had the highest incident volumes and highlighted Station 32 as a notably busy station. Fire prevention work was also highlighted: more than 15,000 inspections were completed and prevention programs and community education were cited as critical to reducing fire loss and 911 workload.
Councilmembers and the chief framed next steps around the departments ongoing needs assessment, staffing analysis, facility planning and deployment strategies; the committee asked staff to return with heat maps, transport-rate details and the requested program breakdowns to guide future budget and deployment decisions.
The committee did not take further formal action on the item at the meeting; follow-up materials and a deeper MIH presentation were requested.
