FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth Fire Chief Jim Davis has resigned, just weeks after being placed on paid administrative leave.
Multiple sources told CBS News Texas the move followed threats by the city’s firefighters association to hold a vote of no confidence in his leadership.
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Sources within the fire department said that the Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association’s concerns focused on how the MedStar merger was handled. One source described the process as rushed, saying, “We made it happen, but it wasn’t easy.”
Before the change, MedStar served Fort Worth and nearby communities as the EMS provider, overseeing ambulance and paramedic operations. It was incorporated into the Fort Worth Fire Department on July 1.
Sources said tensions grew after Davis announced in late August that all firefighters would be required to undergo driver training to serve on ambulances. Members of the association have long advocated for keeping firefighting duties separate from EMS.
Outside experts say assigning firefighters to ambulance duty greatly increases workload. The medical division fields 500–600 calls a day; on Oct. 15, the combined department handled 576.
After Davis was placed on paid leave, the city said the investigation would take a few weeks. Davis referred questions to his attorney, who hoped to release a statement later. The city declined to address the union’s concerns, and the association said it would not issue a formal statement, preferring to let the process “work itself out.”
Assistant Chief Raymond Hill has been named interim chief while the city searches for a permanent replacement. Davis’ last day with the department is Oct. 31.
What’s your take on Fort Worth Fire Chief Jim Davis’s resignation and the issues behind it — should firefighters be required to handle ambulance duties after the MedStar merger?
FireRescue1 readers respond:
- Fire-based EMS certainly isn’t without its problems, but it is the most cost-effective manner that a municipality can provide both services. From an cost-only perspective, Single Role EMS personnel are entitled to overtime pay after working 40 hours/week, whereas firefighters assigned to 24-hr operations are not entitled to overtime pay until they work more than 53 hours/week, on average, during a 28-day cycle. Compounding this issue is that EMS personnel earn more per hour than firefighters, so overtime pay is higher when paid at 1.5 times the hourly rate.
- I am in emergency services in a city that has 3,000 firefighters and 1,600 paramedics, both working for completely different agencies. Keeping these services separate is more expensive but substantially increases the quality of the respective services. Allowing the professions to stick to their base responsibilities allows for a far greater expansion of skills and knowledge in those specialties. In 2025, the professions themselves are advancing in two completely different ways and being forced to be essentially under one umbrella will hinder the progress of both. Do we want true professionals and specialists, who will be coming to help us on our worst day, or just a bunch of jacks of all trades?
- No, Medstar is a private for-profit EMS service. Fire-based EMS transport revenue helps to fund the city fire rescue service. Supplementing Medstar personnel costs with city firefighters to drive private EMS vehicles does what? Reduces safe staffing on fire apparatus to increase profit margins for the private sector provider. Medstar should staff their EMS units with two medics and an EMT driver. Follow the money!
- I don’t know about their specific situation and the process for their merger. However, fire-based EMS is the gold standard and they should embrace it and absorb the work. Yes, 500-600 calls greatly increases the work, and the administration should recognize that and negotiate with the union appropriately to ensure their members are compensated fairly and their well-being is taken into account. Hopefully, a new fire chief will help smooth the waters.
- As a retired fire chief from Mass. I can tell you that merging with EMS was the best thing the Fire Departments did, but a full merger not “helping” the privates. It’s not easy in a major metropolitan department, but it should be done. In this state, you must be at least an EMT-B to drive, except in the event of emergencies, when a first responder can drive. I will mention that I was a union president in our local also. Bottom line is they should be trained to at least drive.
- Not if it wasn’t in their original hiring. Staffing those units should have been a consideration while planning the merger. It can be addressed as an incentive issue with those who select to expand their job to cover driving the ambulances, be given an incentive pay, or just make it a part of the next hiring process.
- As the number of fire calls decrease you should be looking to adapt. 270 years of fire departments with no ability to adapt.
- Since this is a private entity, all ambulance calls need to be handled by Med Star with a few exceptions: Cardiac arrests (provided they carry AEDs), vehicle accidents with entrapments, childbirths and severe traumas.
- This is the future of the fire service. We should be able to handle anything “Emergency”, from a cut finger to a building collapse.
- They wouldn’t be the first! I’m certain the chief made the decision based on cost consolidation challenges that he was given to handle. Lack of confidence?? It’s the way of today’s world that must be faced. There are many cities, as well as volunteer departments, that do the same and have been for a long time. It’s not a new concept. I hate it for the chief that it has come to this!
- Times have been changing since I began my career in 1974. During the war years, we had a lot of firefighting to do, but thanks to fire protection and fire prevention efforts and advancements, now not so much. The main response for the fire service now is and will remain EMS. I live in the Midwest and every deapartment has a Firefighter/Paramedic on every apparatus as well as two Paramedics on each Medic unit. The world will not stop turning to allow firefighters to only be firefighters. The future is here, and you have to embrace it. Just look at EMS compared to fire run numbers if you need evidence. I was one of the first paramedics and flight medics in SW Ohio, beginning back in the 70s. I saw massive pushback to the advancement of EMS and especially ALS operations. I have seen departments use EMS as a punishment and have heard old firefighters tell me that the fire department had no business playing doctor. Unfortunately, some of that mentality still exists in spite of the fact that EMS accounts for 80% of department runs. Paramedics are STILL grossly underpaid and underappreciated, even after all these years. Turnover and burnout are huge problems and there doesn’t seem to be the will among fire service or, more especially, government leadership to fix the problem. I know of departments that will put hundreds of thousands of dollars of EMS equipment on the road and yet expect paramedics to work for $15.00 an hour and cover their own cost for paramedic school, then wonder why they have a high turnover or they just can’t find people to fill these low-paying jobs. EMS has become far more stressful AND far more dangerous than ever before, and the pay and benefits have not kept up with the reality. It’s time for departments and communities to have a “come to Jesus moment”. Either EMS/ALS is important enough to pay for PROPERLY, or walk away. Something for nothing is no longer a viable option, and truth be told, it hasn’t been for many years.
- I agree, keeping EMS & fire separate is important.
- NO AND HELL NO!!!
- Given the size of the overall population of the FD’s coverage area, I am greatly surprised this has not happened before now. EMS is part of the FD’s duties, whether private transport or not, it’s a needed service to the taxpayers that more than suffices for the standard 80/20 percentage of FD responses.
- 23 yrs as a firefighter/paramedic assigned to a house that averaged 15 calls a shift… with 80% being medical (Code3) calls, many of the firefighters enjoyed a break from the truck to being a little busy. Pays the same, why not be busy? Old leadership within the FWFD Association doesn’t like change of any type, especially manning…their influence on the rest of the department really shows. I applaud Chief Davis bucking the old guard and getting the department heading in the right direction. It is sad that the CFW administration caved down to the union. I was a union member for 22 years and an officer on the board for 15 ,years but what was done was wrong! Being a retired firefighter/paramedic with 23 years on the job, I am appalled, sickened and just downright disgusted with the salaries shown for the board. Yes, they should be compensated, but those salaries are outrageous, even for New York. I am very surprised the local union has not had a voice in this matter. While I don’t like the federal government’s involvement in most things, this should be an exception to the rule. Let the National Parks take it over if local control cannot be done properly. 343 should forever be etched in history for their bravery, not be trampled by excessive monies!
- Absorbing an EMS company into the FD would obviously be a stressful situation for all parties. The least stressful way to approach a situation of this magnitude would be to establish a task group that’s made up of all of the concerned parties — including the union — and charge them with analyzing the situation and developing a plan for implementing the merger. Trying to have one person come up with a plan and then trying to shove it down everyone’s throats will guarantee resistance and probably result in failure. Of course ,they should, and the ruling by the court was absolutely in error here. As a retired fire chief as well as a former active duty Marine and a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, there can be little doubt that gory scenes of combat operations occur and this should be expected. Yet many of my fellow Marines suffer to this day from PTSD due to the severe psychological trauma they experienced. This might seem like ‘part of the job’ to some pinheaded lawyer in a courtroom, but nothing can prepare someone for the horrors of actual combat, and PSTD is often the unfortunate result of that experience.
- When I hear these stories, I think, “What a missed opportunity this chief made. He could have looked at it as an opportunity to lead the way to further the services provided to the citizens of Ft. Worth, to expand and educate not only his department, but involve the citizens in the"buy-in” of the new and enhanced duties of the Fort Worth Fire Department. And the article fails to mention all the 500+ medical calls in one day and it makes it sound like a firefighter is going to get pulled to drive the Ambo to the hospital every single call. I’m willing to bet it’s a small percentage that both medics are needed in the back and a firefighter needs to drive. What happened to Fire Departments that embraced the word “service” in community service being a main goal of any of your city, or county departments and agencies?, “We’re not here to penalize anyone.” Yes, yes you are, Chief. You’ve effectively moved the mission of your department from serving the community to charging them for anything they need except for fire suppression. You know the health insurance industry will not pay for this charge, so where does it end? What aren’t you going to charge for? You going to charge for an engine company crew to do CPR and follow the Medics to the hospital? Let’s see...$20 per stroke of CPR equals.... I will tell you what happens next: That elderly person that got a whooping $500 charge last time, won’t call for help next time and they will lay there until they die, because they cannot afford another $500 bill. Nice move. Let’s isolate ourselves even further from the citizens we serve.
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