A 34-year veteran of the fire service, Chief Dan Wurl oversees overall internal operations for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. This position is directly responsible for Management & Fiscal Services, County Office of Emergency Services, Human Resources, and oversight of the two Assistant Chiefs’ areas of responsibility.  

Dan began his fire service career as a Paid Call Firefighter for Riverside County Fire Department at the Woodcrest Fire Station in November 1973. Soon after realizing his enjoyment serving the public, he was hired as a seasonal firefighter for the California Department of Forestry/Riverside Ranger Unit assigned to the Corona Forest Fire Station in 1974. Dan continued to work as a seasonal firefighter until 1977 when he was promoted to Fire Apparatus Engineer for the California Department of Forestry (CDF)/Orange County Fire Department. This assignment was in the Irvine Battalion at the Orange County Airport (now known as John Wayne Airport) providing crash/fire/rescue services and relief for the surrounding fire stations. In 1979, Dan transferred to CDF/San Bernardino Ranger Unit and soon promoted to Captain. His work as a Captain included fire station assignments in the communities of San Bernardino, Highland, Crestline, Twin Peaks, Phelan and a staff assignment in the Emergency Command Center.

In 1990, Dan became Fire Chief for the Running Springs Fire Department and served that community for five years.

He then joined the San Bernardino County Fire Department. As a County Fire Division Chief, he was assigned to the Mountain and Valley Divisions. During his tenure in the Valley Division, the long-awaited paramedic program was implemented, along with the construction of the North End Fontana Fire Station. He was also assigned to the transition team for the consolidation of County Service Area 38 into the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

Dan was appointed as Assistant Chief in February 2001 and assigned to the operations section for the department’s 63 fire stations and over 700 suppression personnel and eventually moved into the administrative support section in support of the many specialized assignments he has been managing. In 2007, Chief Pat Dennen promoted Dan to his current position as Deputy Chief.  This move allows the Chief to focus on external relations while Dan manages the internal operations of the department. 

Dan has been married for 25 years to his beautiful wife, Dede. They have two children; Crystal who is married with a son, and is finishing up her college BS degree while Daniel continues his high school education. They enjoy camping, golfing and water sports along with just spending time together and church activities. They live in the San Bernardino Mountains and enjoy the small community mountain life with its four seasons.



Updated February 2008