Dallas Fire-Rescue has a new fire chief. The city announced on Thursday that it had removed the interim tag from new Chief Justin Ball’s title.
Ball served as the interim chief starting in June 2024, when former Chief Dominique Artis was named Dallas Chief of Public Safety.
“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,” Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said. “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 has been with Dallas Fire-Rescue since 1997, most recently as executive assistant chief of operations before his elevation to interim chief. He was just from a pool of 32 applicants.
“I know our city manager took the hiring process seriously, and Chief Ball proved himself during his time as interim chief,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said. “In my time as mayor, Chief Ball has also been integral to our city's life-safety responses to major incidents, and I have seen him emerge as an adept leader from our shared time in our Emergency Operations Center during some very challenging times for Dallas.”
Ball will be the 18th chief in the department's history and over a $430 million budget.
“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. “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.”
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