Austin Fire Resource Allocation Analysis

Research Question: Do suburban areas in Austin utilize disproportionate fire department resources on a per-capita basis compared to urban areas?

Data Setup

Data files are not included in this repository due to size (~4.7GB). You must download them before running the analysis.

Automatic Download (Recommended)

# Install dependencies first
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Download all required data (~100MB from APIs)
python 01_download_data.py

This downloads Austin fire incidents, response area boundaries, and Census data from public APIs.

NFIRS Data (Optional - for national comparisons)

The NFIRS (National Fire Incident Reporting System) data must be downloaded manually:

1. Visit the USFA NFIRS Data Center
2. Download the annual Public Data Release files (2018-2021)
3. Extract to raw_data/nfirs/YYYY/ directories

Note on Historical Data

The AFD Fire Incidents 2018-2021 dataset was removed from the Austin Open Data Portal and is no longer available for automatic download. This analysis uses 2022-2024 data only.

For historical data, you can file a public records request with the Austin Fire Department.

Directory Structure After Setup

raw_data/
├── afd_incidents_2022_2024.csv    # From download script
├── afd_response_areas.geojson     # From download script
├── fire_stations.geojson          # From download script
├── census_population.csv          # From download script
├── census_housing.csv             # From download script
├── census_year_built.csv          # From download script
├── tl_2023_48_tract.zip           # From download script (Census tract boundaries)
└── nfirs/                         # Manual download (optional)
    └── ...

Quick Start

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Download data (see Data Setup above)
python 01_download_data.py

# Run the pipeline
python 02_clean_incidents.py  # Clean incident data
python 03_create_crosswalk.py # Create spatial crosswalk
python 04_analysis.py         # Run analysis
python 05_visualize.py        # Generate maps & charts

Project Structure

fire-incident-analysis/
├── 01_download_data.py          # Fetch data from APIs
├── 02_clean_incidents.py        # Clean & classify incidents
├── 03_create_crosswalk.py       # Census tract → response area mapping
├── 04_analysis.py               # Calculate rates & run tests
├── 05_visualize.py              # Generate maps & charts
├── 06_nfirs_cause_analysis.py   # NFIRS cause code analysis
├── raw_data/                    # Downloaded data (not in repo)
├── processed_data/              # Cleaned/merged data (not in repo)
├── outputs/                     # Final results & visualizations (not in repo)
├── docs/                        # Documentation
├── requirements.txt             # Python dependencies
└── README.md                    # This file

Data Sources

Data	Source
Fire Incidents (2022-2024)	Austin Open Data Portal
Response Area Boundaries	City of Austin ArcGIS
Fire Station Locations	City of Austin ArcGIS
Population by Tract	Census ACS 5-Year (B01003)
Housing Units by Type	Census ACS 5-Year (B25024)
Year Structure Built	Census ACS 5-Year (B25034)
Census Tract Boundaries	TIGER/Line Shapefiles

Key Outputs

• outputs/summary_by_urban_class.csv - Incident rates by urban/suburban classification
• outputs/summary_by_housing_type.csv - Incident rates by housing typology
• outputs/statistical_tests.txt - T-tests and ANOVA results
• outputs/map_incidents_per_capita.html - Interactive choropleth map
• outputs/chart_urban_comparison.png - Bar chart comparison

Research Context

This analysis supports the Research Hub's investigation into fire department resource allocation, informed by:

• Single-stair building code discussions
• Fire department aerial equipment requirements
• Pew Research report on multifamily building safety
• Austin budget and zoning debates

Contact

Research Hub - Austin Housing & Land Use Working Group