The city of Dallas has named Justin Ball as the next fire chief. Ball has served as the interim chief since last year.
Former Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Dominique Artis recently took on a new role as the city's chief of public safety. In that role, he's responsible for supervising his former department, as well as the police department, emergency services and the municipal courts.
The decision comes just months after City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert announced the regional search to fill the vacant position.
“Chief Ball has a demonstrated track record of strong leadership. He has brought fresh ideas to solve problems and seized on innovative opportunities to take this internationally recognized department to the next level,” Tolbert said in a Thursday press release.
“I appreciate his contribution to keeping Dallas at the top of the leaderboard as one of the safest large cities in the country, and his dedication to the DFR team.”
Ball is originally from northeast England but has lived in Dallas for over 30 years, according to the press release. He has a bachelor's degree in Fire Administration from Texas A&M.
“It’s an incredible honor to have been selected as the permanent Chief to lead the brave men and women with whom I have the pleasure of working with each day,” Ball said in the press release. “I look forward to building on our positive momentum, focusing on the safety and wellness of our members, and continuing to deliver the best service to this community.”
District 1 Council Member Chad West said in a Thursday statement that "when residents call 911 for a fire or collision emergency, they expect and deserve fast, reliable response times."
"With Chief Justin Ball at the helm, I am confident that we’ll continue these trends in Dallas," West said. "My hope is that Chief Ball will also embrace discussions and infrastructure planning that furthers our city’s Vision Zero goals by redesigning our roadways to slow down cars and enhance pedestrian and cyclist safety.”
The announcement of a new chief comes before the city has named a candidate to fill the vacant police chief role.
There are five finalists for that position who have been meeting with elected officials, community leaders and the public over the last few weeks. The candidates include current interim Police Chief Michael Igo and Dallas Police Assistant Chief Catrina M. Shead.
But both the search for the police and fire chiefs have been expedited compared to the search to find a permanent city manager after former Dallas and now Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax resigned last year.
It took months for elected officials — asked by Mayor Eric Johnson — to chose Tolbert as the city's next top executive. That saga included dueling meetings, transparency concerns — and dozens of candidates being kept from city officials.
Now that Tolbert has named a fire chief, a new police chief is scheduled to be announced next.
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