Fort Worth Fire Chief Raymond Hill will retire on Sept. 1, closing out a career that began when he joined the department as a firefighter in December 1994 and ended with him steering one of the biggest operational overhauls in the department's history. Hill's more than 30 years of service culminated in a run as interim, then permanent, fire chief during which the department absorbed the city's entire emergency medical services system.
According to the City of Fort Worth, Hill advanced through every rank of the Fort Worth Fire Department over his three-decade tenure, eventually being named assistant chief of educational and logistical services in 2018. In that role, he oversaw recruit and in-service training, the office of emergency management, personal protective equipment and supply, personnel health and wellness, the department's SCBA shop, the fire alarm office, and fire apparatus and vehicle services. William Johnson, in a statement relayed by the city, said Hill dedicated more than 30 years to serving Fort Worth residents with integrity, professionalism and unwavering commitment.
An Unexpected Path to the Top Job
Hill's ascent to the department's top post came under turbulent circumstances. Former Chief Jim Davis resigned in October 2025 amid union friction and after being placed on paid administrative leave during a personnel investigation, receiving a $99,000 separation agreement, according to WFAA. The Fort Worth City Council unanimously appointed Hill interim fire chief on Oct. 28, 2025, thrusting him into leadership in the middle of the department's biggest transition in decades.
Hill wasn't a stranger to the regional spotlight. He had been named in March 2025 as one of four national finalists for the fire chief job at Dallas Fire-Rescue while still serving as Fort Worth's executive assistant chief, a distinction Hoodline previously reported underscored his standing among North Texas fire leaders.
Overseeing the EMS Takeover
The centerpiece of Hill's tenure was the fire department's absorption of MedStar's ambulance and paramedic operations. Starting July 1, 2025, the Fort Worth Fire Department took full responsibility for EMS across the city and 14 neighboring member cities, absorbing more than 600 former MedStar employees into municipal service, per the same account from the department's regional rollout. The move followed years of financial strain at MedStar, which needed $4.2 million in emergency city funding in 2023 to cover rising costs and stagnant revenues, according to Community Impact's reporting on a town hall Hill led on the changes.
The scale of the buildout was substantial: the fire department's workforce grew from roughly 900 personnel in 2020 to more than 1,600 members in 2025 as it took on ambulance duties. To manage the newly merged workforce, the city and the Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association Local 440 struck an agreement in December 2024 establishing civil service status for former MedStar EMTs, paramedics and telecommunicators, a framework detailed by MedStar Mobile Healthcare at the time. In January 2025, the department also created a first deputy fire director position, appointing Ashley Clement to oversee budgeting for the roughly $85 million annual EMS budget, a hire Hoodline covered when it broke the department's glass ceiling.
Faster Response Times, Consolidated Dispatch
By June 2025, the Fire Alarm Office and MedStar's dispatch operations had been consolidated at 2900 Alta Mere Drive, placing fire and medical dispatchers under one roof for the first time in decades to streamline 911 call routing. The city credits that integration, along with the broader EMS takeover, with cutting average response times from nearly 12.5 minutes to approximately 8.5 minutes over the past year — a dramatic improvement over MedStar's response times, which routinely exceeded 11 minutes between 2021 and 2023, according to Community Impact.
William Johnson said Hill's leadership during the transition to a fire-based EMS system transformed emergency response and positioned the department for continued success. Hill himself said the department achieved meaningful progress for the community, and that serving alongside the Fort Worth Fire Department was an honor.
What Comes Next
The City of Fort Worth said it will begin a national search for the next fire chief and will announce additional details on the recruitment process at a later date. Whoever succeeds Hill will inherit unresolved questions, including how to sustain the $85 million EMS budget long-term and how to navigate labor negotiations, since the civil service memorandum of understanding with Local 440 is set to expire at the end of September 2026 — just weeks after Hill's own departure.
