The Emergency Response Bureau provides operational and administrative support to Fire-Rescue, Special Operations, and EMS related functions of the department. Assistant Chief Justin Ball heads this bureau and is assisted by Executive Deputy Chief Charlie Salazar. Emergency Response is responsible for the day-to-day operations involving normal fire suppression and emergency first responder calls. Six (6) Field Deputy Chiefs help to facilitate the activities of 58 DFR Fire Stations and its members. Emergency Response personnel participate in other non-emergency activities that include; continuing education, skills proficiency training, officer enrichment programs, fire hydrant maintenance, and elementary school outreach programs. Special Operations is managed by Deputy Chief Delridge Williams and consists of specialty trained teams called upon during life or property compromising situations which are often high risk and require specialized skills. The various Specialty Teams within Special Operations utilize grant funding for certification in specialized disciplines, training opportunities and procurement of sophisticated equipment leveraged during rescues. These teams train consistently to meet the challenging physical and cognitive requirements necessary to efficiently conduct rescue operations involving suppression of Wildland fires encroaching on urban housing, handling Water Rescues of any type, mitigation of Hazardous Material involved incidents, Rescues that necessitate technical skills beyond normal operations, and aviation incidents by specialized trained ARFF teams. These teams occasionally respond outside the city to large scale incidents as required by the state and have also been called outside of the state during the 2018 California Wildfires. EMS operations and the high call volume associated with activities present significant challenges for this division as the department strategizes to keep pace with the increased demand for EMS services associated with a growing population. EMS related calls account for the majority of the department's response workload. Deputy Chief Tami Kayea collaborates with the fire department's Medical Director, Dr. Marshall Isaacs and the bureau chief's as well as other medical community stakeholders to strategically meet the city's day to day and long-term EMS needs.
Emergency Response
The Emergency Response Division provides the residents of Dallas with fire suppression and protection, emergency rescue capabilities, and emergency medical first responder services. Customer Service is our primary goal for the citizens of Dallas, to be obtained through providing safety, mitigating emergency situations, and reducing loss of any kind. To learn more about the resources, equipment, and stations available to provide those customer services see Learn more about Emergency Response.
Special Operations
The Special Operations Division consists of personnel that are certified firefighters and receive specialized training in HazMat, Swift Water, Wildland Urban Interface or Urban Search and Rescue. Through extensive training, these teams have prepared themselves to be deployed and engage in emergencies both locally and statewide. To learn more about their specific disciplines and capabilities that potentially impact our community and state see Learn more about Special Operations.
Emergency Medial Services (EMS)
Emergency Medical Services provides Ambulances to respond to
medical emergencies, heart attacks, major accidents and all other types of
emergency medical calls. The fleet units also respond to structure fires to
assist with medical aid for victims as well as firefighters who may become
injured from their efforts to assist. From medical control and direction used
by field paramedics to the MCHP pool of paramedics assisting citizens through education
on appropriate use of the 911 system, EMS covers a wide array of emergency
response and preventive programs designed to keep citizens safe from harm.
Learn more about how EMS impacts your neighborhood or the description of
available resources that may be made available. The EMS Division maintains a large fleet of equipment consists of emergency fleet full time ambulances, peak hour Ambulances, Mobile Community Health Paramedics (MCHP), and EMS Shift Duty Officers (SDO). In addition to these resources, all fire engines are equipped for Advanced Life Support (ALS) which reduces on-scene response time needed to mitigate medical emergencies.
Threat Advisory
The United States government's national threat level is Elevated, or Yellow. For all domestic and international flights, the U.S. threat level is High, or Orange.
