The Firehouse Yak: Daniel DeYear - 20 LODDs in 144 Days, A Wake-up Call for Firefighter Culture?

Deputy Chief (ret.) Daniel DeYear talks about his involvement with LODD investigations and the loss of friends and how that should impact your fireground and training decisions.

Peter Matthews

Daniel DeYear

Oct. 21, 2024

Peter Matthews talks with Daniel DeYear, a recently retired deputy chief from Dallas Fire-Rescue, about his work involving LODD investigations in Texas and how it relates to the often contentious discussions on firefighter safety and fire service culture.

DeYear outlines a 144-day period in which his team investigated nearly 20 firefighter deaths – all from fireground operations – including the West, TX, explosion and Houston’s Southwest Inn fire. During his career in Dallas, he lost almost two dozen colleagues in the line of duty, including his rookie school partner and one of his academy instructors, all of which has led DeYear to connect the dots and champion efforts to ensure those patterns are reduced.

DeYear discusses why firefighters tend to focus on being aggressive on the fireground, without being aggressive with education and knowledge building to lead you to make the right decisions.

Daniel DeYear

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About the Author

Peter Matthews

Editor-in-Chief/Conference Director

Peter Matthews is the conference director and editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department and currently is a photographer for the Fort Worth, TX, Fire Department.

Daniel DeYear

Daniel DeYear recently retired from Dallas Fire Rescue where he served as deputy chief of the training division. He has been with the department for more than 30 years. DeYear previously worked for the Carrollton, TX, Fire Department for nearly 10 years, serving in several capacities, and then for two years as an international fire marshal for the U. S. Department of State, Foreign Building Operations. In conjunction with the latter, he travelled to dozens of countries to provide fire and life safety to U.S. embassies and consulates. Currently, DeYear also serves as the chairman of the Texas Commission on Fire Protection’s Fire Fighter Advisory Committee and is a member of the organization’s Curriculum & Testing Committee and Health and Wellness Committee. He was the Texas Association of Future Educators 2020 Instructor of the Year. You can find more here: chiefdeyear.com.