In 1984, now Mountain View Fire Rescue Chief Dave Beebe was set on becoming a police officer. However, when he found a flyer in his mailbox advertising that Federal Heights was looking for volunteer firefighters he decided to give it a shot.

“I found I liked it. I decided to make it a career, and the rest is history,” Beebe said.

Beebe was first hired by the Glendale Fire Department in 1988 where he served as a firefighter before working for the Denver Fire Department that absorbed the Glendale department. In 2005, Beebe joined MVFR, where he worked in a number of positions before becoming the assistant chief of operations and then fire chief.

After more than 40 years in a fire service career, Beebe is set to retire in April with plans to build a house in south Teller County where he can fly fish and enjoy being out in nature.

Looking back over his eight years as chief, Beebe said he’s proud of the consolidation of Mountain View Fire Rescue and Rocky Mountain Fire and the improvements the department has made in its resources, fleet and facilities.

“We transitioned from the volunteer agency to a career agency,” Beebe said. “We’ve grown a lot. We’ve gotten a lot more sophisticated. (We) offer a lot more in the way of service. Just a lot of growth.”

Despite all the growth, Beebe said the department’s biggest challenge has been finding enough funding.

“It’s been challenging over the last several years primarily due to the legislature keeps changing the rules. We’re primarily funded by property tax and all of the changes they’ve made and the frantic pace of those changes coming out of the legislature is always keeping us having to adjust and we think we know what to predict and it gets changed. It’s a constantly evolving battle.”

According to Mountain View Fire Rescue spokesman Rick Tillery, recent legislation, such as SB23B-001, has changed the assessment rates in a downward direction. Due to MVFR being primarily funded through property tax, Tillery wrote that the department is still working to evaluate how the change will impact their future revenue, but expect to see an overall lower revenue stream.

Three years into being chief, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, causing Beebe and MVFR administration to have to adjust to the challenges facing the workforce. Beebe said it caused him to realize that everyone has something going on in their lives, and, as a chief, he had to adjust work schedules to be more flexible.

Despite everything Beebe has faced over his career, he said the challenges, and the camaraderie that comes with it, were the parts of the fire service that kept him coming back.

“No two days are the same,” Beebe said.

As the MVFR board searches for his replacement, Beebe said his advice to the next chief is to be flexible.“Everything changes quickly. There’s so many different things you have to stay abreast of,” Beebe said. “Whether it be laws, whether it be financial challenges, personnel issues, it just constantly changes.”

In the 2024 annual report, Beebe wrote that it has been “a privilege and honor” to serve as the fire chief and said together, community members, staff and partners have built “a stronger, safer and more resilient community.”

“It’s been a really great, rewarding career,” Beebe said. “I’m looking forward to the next chapter. I’ll miss the organization and miss my staff.”

Mountain View Fire Rescue covers the Mead, Dacono, Erie, Niwot, Superior and Eldorado Springs areas and a western area of Boulder, according to the district map.