Firefighter retires after three decades of service to the community

AFTER more than three decades of service, firefighter Dean Snape has hung up his helmet with Fire and Rescue NSW.

Snape, 52, finished his career on September 11, a date that gave him pause.

“I got to go home that day where a lot of firefighters in New York on 9/11 didn’t,” he said.

“I think that’s an important way to look at it and how lucky I’ve been to get to this point.”

Snape joined the Rural Fire Service at Rosebank in 1991 and has spent the past 23 years at Goonellabah Fire Station.

He said it felt like the right time to retire.

“I could have waited a few more years, but it felt like the right time to focus a bit more on myself,” he said.

“I still enjoy helping people, I’ll just have to find another way of doing that now.”

Over the years, Snape helped steer communities through floods, fires, cyclones and tornadoes.

He recalled one memorable moment taking former NSW premier Bob Carr through floodwaters in the early 2000s.

He said the fire service had always supported him when he faced his own challenges.

“Years ago, I was in the Gold Coast hospital after having a suspected brain aneurysm,” he said.

“The commissioner of the state fire service at the time rang me while I was there in bed to check in and wish me luck. You appreciate that kind of thing, it was like having a big family.”

Beyond emergencies, Snape valued the community side of the job.

“For more than 10 years I’d go to one of the preschools for fire safety talks,” he said.

“There were only a few natural disasters I haven’t dealt with and that’s an earthquake and tsunami.”

Snape also runs his own tree lopping business and hopes to spend more time with his two daughters and six grandchildren.

His career will be celebrated at an official retirement party in late October.