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Civil Service Board clears former Dallas firefighter to seek rehire
Summary
The Dallas Civil Service Board voted unanimously to allow Timothy Parris, a former Dallas Fire & Rescue employee who lost his position after failing remedial paramedic training, to apply for reemployment after he passed the national paramedic registry and worked in EMS roles since his discharge.
The Dallas Civil Service Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to permit former Dallas Fire & Rescue employee Timothy Parris to apply for reemployment after reviewing his rehire eligibility appeal.
The board’s decision follows testimony and written material from Parris, who said he was appointed to Dallas Fire and Rescue on Nov. 1, 2017, and discharged on Dec. 6, 2022, for “failure of remedial training.” In a submitted letter read into the record, Parris wrote that his dismissal “is not related to job performance or any disciplinary issues.” He said he later passed the National Paramedic Registry exam and “received my EMTP certification.”
Board Secretary and Department Director David Davis (testifying for the Civil Service Department) confirmed the board had received Parris’s employment documentation during the meeting and outlined the department’s rehire criteria, including a rule that former employees show at least two years of work history in the two years prior to seeking rehire. The board reviewed paperwork that showed Parris worked as an emergency medical technician with Priority Care Transit from April 3, 2023, through Feb. 4, 2025, and that he was employed by Dallas Regional Medical Center beginning in April 2025.
Parris told the board he completed paramedic school after his discharge, worked as an EMT while attending school full time to support his child, and is currently employed in an emergency department. “I’m confident in my ability to return to duty as both a firefighter and a paramedic and contribute meaningfully through the Dallas Fire Department and the community we serve,” Parris said in his written statement read to the board.
After brief board discussion, a member moved to allow Parris to be reinstated to the city’s reemployment application process and another member seconded the motion. The presiding chair called for a voice vote; the motion “carried unanimously, 4 to nothing,” the board announced. The board directed Parris to coordinate next steps with civil service staff.
The action authorizes Parris to pursue the standard rehire application and any required fitness or training steps under city hiring procedures; it does not itself constitute a new appointment or guarantee placement. The board’s decision was procedural: members confirmed that Parris met the department’s stated employment-history requirement and accepted the documentation he presented about his certification and subsequent EMS work.
The board moved on to a separate evidentiary hearing after concluding the rehire appeal.
