First Responders
Surrey Fire Service Firefighter Profile
Dean Cleave
If dedicating your life to something you love can keep you young, then Captain Dean Cleave of the Surrey Fire Service must really love being a firefighter. It’s hard to believe this youthful, fit man is approaching retirement – and impossible to imagine he is a grandfather. Looking back on a 32 year career he smiles and says “It has been a great career... a great life.”
Over the course of his career, Dean has seen a lot of changes in Surrey. The population has grown by over 320,000 people, meaning a massive increase in call volume and an expansion of the services delivered by the fire department. The basic role of firefighters, in Cleave’s opinion, has remained the same. “We are there to help people on their worst day.” The changes in Surrey have required firefighters to make adaptations, but Cleave says “We’ve always had to adapt to the unexpected. We prepare for it all through dedication and training.”
Training firefighters is a big part of Dean Cleave’s life. Not only does he help mould the new firefighters in the Surrey Fire Service, as a Program Coordinator at the Justice Institute of British Columbia, he helps train students in the Career Fire Fighter Pre-Employment Program. In that program, “We try to mentor and guide the students and of course give them the training and certifications they need to become firefighters.” One piece of advice he offers is “Make sure you want the job. It’s very rewarding, but also very demanding.”
It was curiosity that made Dean walk into Surrey Fire Hall #10 in 1978. Since then he has made firefighting his life. He jokes, “Maybe that makes me a boring guy.” Boring doesn’t seem to fit this man who has spent much of his life looking after the people of Surrey. If you would like to follow in his footsteps, the Surrey Fire Service will be taking career firefighter applications this spring. Please check www.surreycareers.ca for the application opening. There are no guarantees you will look as young as Dean Cleave when you retire, but you’ll have spent your career making a difference.
If you are interested in becoming a career firefighter,
please contact Tim Dykeman of Surrey Fire Service Recruitment at 604-543-6739.
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