Arlington Texas Fire Department

Chief Don Crowson has been with the Arlington Texas Fire Department since 1983. After promoting through the ranks, he was appointed to Fire Chief/Director of Emergency Management in 2010. As Chief he has led the city through numerous large-scale emergencies including a tornado that hit west Arlington in 2014. He’s directed Fire Department public safety operations for two World Series and a Super Bowl. Chief Crowson is a longtime proponent of public/private partnerships and applying common sense business principles to achieve cost effective government service solutions. During his tenure as Chief, the fire department has entered into multiple partnership agreements with various outside groups including a private ambulance provider, two major league sports franchises, a local hospital system, the Arlington independent school district, and a community college. Throughout his 37 - year career he has worked diligently to diversify the services the Arlington Fire Department provides to meet the changing needs and expectations of the community.

Besides leading the Fire Department, Chief Crowson is responsible for directing the City’s Emergency Management team, the 911 Dispatch center, and serves as Chair for the Tarrant County 911 District Board of Managers which provides 911 services to 2.5 million citizens. He is Arlington’s Point of Contact for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Urban Area by overseeing Homeland Security grants for Arlington and North Texas region. Chief Crowson serves as the contract administrator of the City’s private ambulance provider and is responsible for the management of Arlington’s EMS System. In 2005 Chief Crowson helped establish the Fire Department’s Bomb Squad which has become the region’s largest and most sophisticated EOD unit in north Texas with 12 EOD canine teams actively working to protect our community in joint partnership with federal and state agencies. In 2009 Chief Crowson negotiated the City’s public/private public safety special event model with the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers. It is the largest and most comprehensive public safety special event model in North Texas which includes the homeland security elements of (FIRE, EMS, Biological, Hazardous Materials, and EOD detection and response). Lastly, under Chief Crowson’s tenure the Arlington Fire Department has maintained CALEA accreditation for the 911 Dispatch Center, achieved EMAP accreditation for the Office of Emergency Management which made Arlington the sixth city in the country to achieve this level of professional excellence, and in 2017, the AFD became an ISO 1 rated Fire Department. In 2017, Chief Don Crowson was also honored in Washington, DC by the American Medical Association (AMA) as the recipient of the Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Career Public Servant on the Local Level. Named for the creator of the AMA, the award recognizes federal, state, and local officials whose career service has contributed to the art and science of medicine and the improvement of public health. He is the first Fire Chief in the country to receive this honor.