Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue’s EMS Chief Travis Parker retiring after 27 years

Travis Parker

Travis Parker is the Emergency Medical Services Division Chief at Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service. Parker is also one to Tuscaloosa magazine's 6 Intriguing People for the winter 2013 issue.staff photo | Robert Sutton

On Friday, Travis Parker dressed in the crisp white shirt bearing the Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service emblem for the last time.

It's a uniform that he's proudly worn as he worked his way up the department ranks during the past 27 years.

"When you walk up in that uniform, it's almost like a wave of calm that goes over everyone," Parker said. "I don't mean to be prideful by saying that, it's just a fact of life."

During his career, which started as a paramedic and is ending as chief of the department's Emergency Medical Services, Parker has helped thousands of people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. His approach of treating each emergency as if it were happening to a family member is just one indication that he's lived up to the expectations of that uniform.

"When someone calls 911, it's an emergency to them no matter what it is. It could be a cat up a tree," he said. "Being able to help people during these times is what makes this job so rewarding."

Unfortunately, most 911 calls that the department responds to are much more serious than a treed cat. "Expect the best but prepare for the worst" is the motto that he has learned to live by.

Parker, 58, traces his passion for helping others to an event that happened when he was young. His mother was working an overnight shift waiting tables when he was awakened by his father in distress.

His father was having a seizure at 2 a.m., likely a side effect from a head injury he'd sustained while mowing the lawn at their home in the Loop Road area that day.

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Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue's EMS Chief Travis Parker retiring after 27 years