Fort Worth and these 14 North Texas cities will have fire-based EMS by July 1
Fort Worth officials say the city is ready to complete the transition from MedStar to fire-based Emergency Medical Services on July 1.
Mayor Mattie Parker said at a news conference Wednesday that the change marks a new chapter in patient-centric care for Fort Worth and the surrounding area of North Texas, and will improve EMS response times by up to 5.5 minutes.
The new EMS model will bring MedStar employees on board to serve as paramedics and emergency medical technicians on ambulances run by the Fort Worth Fire Department. The Fort Worth City Council voted May 21, 2024, to approve the transition.
Parker talked about the growth the city has seen over the years, going from a population of about 470,000 in 1995 to more than 1 million today.
“With growth comes a tremendous amount of responsibility,” Parker said, adding that the new EMS system was created with that growth in mind.
MedStar’s service area has traditionally covered Fort Worth and 13 member cities, including Blue Mound, Edgecliff Village, Forest Hill, Haltom City, Haslet, Lakeside, Lake Worth Village, River Oaks, Saginaw, Sansom Park, Westover Hills, Westworth Village and White Settlement.
The Fort Worth Fire Department will take over ambulance service for the same cities staring July 1. Richland Hills will also be part of the new service area.
Saginaw Fire Chief Doug Spears said at the news conference that he’s already seeing improvements in EMS service in his area and is excited for the transition.
“I’m personally witnessing renewed enthusiasm and improvement in morale of our EMS providers, which ultimately manifests itself in greater customer and patient experience,” Spears said.
History of MedStar
MedStar has been the sole ambulance provider for Fort Worth and the surrounding area since 1986.
MedStar received subsidies from Fort Worth and the other member cities until 2010. Expenses were low at that time, according to MedStar officials, and the income generated from insurance payments and a community paramedicine program made the ambulance service provider self-sustaining for a time.
Rising costs prompted MedStar to request funding from the City Council for the 2024 fiscal year. In early August 2023, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker formed an Ad Hoc Council Committee on Emergency Medical Response to assess MedStar’s services and review other EMS models.
The city hired an independent consultant, Fitch and Associates, to do a deep dive into Fort Worth’s EMS system and give regular reports to the ad hoc committee.
The committee considered four EMS models, including one that would have retained MedStar in its current role but transferred governance to the Fort Worth City Council. In April 2024, it recommended a fire department-based model incorporating current MedStar employees who will serve on ambulances but not work as firefighters.
MedStar will cease to exist after July 1. More than 600 MedStar employees will be part of the transition, including paramedics, EMTs and dispatchers.
New ambulances, improved communication
Parker said residents will see the same faces as before. They’ll just be wearing a different uniform and riding in an ambulance with a different logo.
The first ambulance with a Fort Worth Fire EMS logo hit the streets in April. Shaun Curtis, MedStar’s director of operations, said they’ve been working to get all the ambulances switched over to the new decals, but it probably won’t be done by July 1.
At least for a while, residents will be seeing MedStar ambulances with a small decal stating “owned and operated by the Fort Worth Fire Department,” Curtis said.
Another step in the transition was the merging of the Fort Worth Fire Department and MedStar’s communications systems. The week of June 8, radios were reprogrammed to allowed fire crews and MedStar crews to talk to each other over the same channel.
In the past, there was no way for the two agencies to communicate with each other at accident scenes or other emergencies.
“Instead of folks getting ... in and out of vehicles and walking up and down the street to talk each other, they’re talking on radios,” Fire Chief Jim Davis said at the news conference. “They’re on one radio system. They will soon be on one dispatch system, and folks, that makes everybody safer.”
The fire and EMS communications systems have moved into the same facility, the building in west Fort Worth that MedStar used as its headquarters. The dispatchers are working side by side. After July 1, they will be on the same computer system, which fire officials said will reduce dispatch and response times.
Davis said it’s an honor to be entrusted with the transition, and he’s humbled that the 14 member cities have agreed to come along for the journey.
“We are ready for July 1,” he said.
This story was originally published June 25, 2025 at 5:40 PM.
