A 36-year veteran of the fire service, Chief Dan Wurl oversees a fire department in the nation's largest county that encompasses more than 17,500 square miles of diverse environments, providing services to 65 communities within the unincorporated area of the county, along with service to five cities. Our jurisdiction includes several highly urbanized metropolitan areas, several major transportation corridors; both interstate and rail, into and out of Southern California, mountain resorts, and vast tracts of high use recreational desert lands.

Wurl began his fire service career as a Paid-Call Firefighter for Riverside County Fire Department in 1973. Soon after realizing his enjoyment serving the public, he was hired as a seasonal firefighter for the California Department of Forestry (CDF), where he worked until 1977. He started his full-time firefighter career when he promoted to Fire Apparatus Engineer for CDF/Orange County Fire Department, assigned to the Irvine Battalion at the Orange County Airport (now known as John Wayne Airport) providing crash/fire/rescue services. In 1979, Wurl transferred to CDF/San Bernardino Ranger Unit and soon promoted to Captain, working assignments in the communities of San Bernardino, Highland, Crestline, Twin Peaks, Phelan and a staff assignment in the Emergency Command Center.

In 1990, Wurl became Fire Chief for the Running Springs Fire Department and served that community for five years. Due to budget reductions caused by state revenue realignment, he reorganized the department and instituted a multi-jurisdiction Chief Officer response plan which still is used today.

In 1995, Chief Wurl joined the San Bernardino County Fire Department as a Division Chief, where 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 assigned to the transition team for the consolidation of County Service Area 38 into the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Wurl also led the formation of Labor Management, which over the past decade has benefited the organization.

Wurl was appointed as Assistant Chief in 2001 and assigned to oversee Operations 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, Wurl was promoted to Deputy Chief, managing internal operations of the department.


Chief Wurl was instrumental in bringing the Fire Reorganization Plan to fruition, a process that began in 2002 and finalized in 2009; dissolving 27 separate fire districts and merging them into a single fire protection district with four regional service zones. The plan ultimately improved many systems, solidified revenues and improved the overall efficiency of the department. This allowed for greater flexibility in the use of department personnel, resources, assets and more effective use of executive management to oversee day-to-day operations.

Chief Wurl serves as the San Bernardino County Operational Area Coordinator, responsible for maintaining a county wide emergency response plan, as well as coordinating resources and requests for fire personnel and apparatus assistance when requested through the statewide mutual aid system. Chief Wurl served as the Unified Incident Commander during the historical 2003 Grand Prix Fire, transitioning into Area Command where he served as the Unified Incident Commander overseeing five management teams and allocating resources. Wurl played a leading role in the formation of the Mountain Area Safety Taskforce, a state-of-the-art partnership for managing natural disasters, creating a national model.

Chief Wurl and his wife of 28 years, Dede, have two children and hold strong family values. They enjoy spending time with their family, camping, hiking, golf, and water sports.



Updated June 2010