Education
Listen as Lubbock Mayor Addresses Growing Concerns Over Local AI Data Centers - KFYO
Lubbock Mayor Mark McBrayer told KFYO's Sunrise LBK that the city is weighing a proposal to hire 22 new firefighters every year for six years, a staffing push tied to a shift in how the fire department schedules its crews. The change would move firefighters from a 24/48 schedule, where they work one day and get two off, to a 24/72, giving them three days off between shifts.
The change would move firefighters from a 24/48 schedule, where they work one day and get two off, to a 24/72, giving them three days off between shifts. To make that work without cutting coverage, the department needs more bodies. McBrayer put the net cost of the first year alone at around $1.5 million. The mayor also addressed AI data centers in Lubbock during the interview, though the full details of that conversation were not included in the published excerpt.
For people here, the firefighter proposal is the most tangible piece. More firefighters spread across longer rest cycles could affect response times and station staffing across the city, from neighborhoods near the medical district to areas on the south end that have seen growth in recent years. Six years of hiring at that cost adds up fast for a city budget already juggling competing priorities.
Lubbock currently operates 23 fire stations, which gives some sense of the scale involved in rebalancing shift schedules across the whole department.
Common questions
Why does Lubbock want to hire so many new firefighters?
- The city is looking at shifting firefighters from a 24/48 schedule to a 24/72 schedule, meaning three days off between shifts instead of two. To keep fire coverage the same with longer off periods, the department needs more staff - about 22 new hires per year for six years.
How much will the Lubbock firefighter staffing plan cost?
- Mayor Mark McBrayer put the net cost of the first year alone at around $1.5 million. The proposal spans six years of hiring, so total costs would grow significantly over time, though a full multi-year figure was not provided in the published interview excerpt.
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