Michael Hurley joined the Burnaby Fire Department because their goal was to help people, and that appealed to him. It was a code he would adopt over the next 30 years in an exemplary career that just came to an end with retirement on April 9.
Some background music, please ...
Hurley came to Vancouver in 1983 at the age of 25 from a small town sandwiched between Belfast and Derby, Ireland. A carpenter by trade, he left to escape the country’s economics and other things going on in his native land at the time. It would turn out to be Ireland’s loss and Burnaby’s gain.
Joining the Burnaby Fire Department in 1988, he would rise through the ranks as a rookie firefighter (just learning and honing his skills) to the position upon retirement as acting assistant chief.
In between, he became known for his contributions on the job, to the union and to charitable causes.
After a five-year start, Hurley graduated to a driver, then a four-year involvement as a technical rescue team member. He spent six years as a hazardous materials specialist, the last few as an instructor and became a lieutenant for four years before heading into retirement as a captain.
His proudest moment through all that as a firefighter came following 9/11. He called the New York fire department to see how the Burnaby members could help and what they needed. New York responded by saying they needed people to come to New York for funerals to pay respect to their fallen members. Hurley went immediately to work, put the call out to his fellow members, and, within three days, 180 Burnaby members had lined up to travel to New York. They went down in four different groups over a three-week period.
Hurley's union activities have been award-winning. He became a Burnaby 323 union committee member in 1994, the union's vice-president in 1996, and served from 2001 to 2009 as president. During that time, in 2008, he also became president of the B.C. Professional Firefighters' Association, a term that lasted until 2016. If that wasn't enough, in 2016 he was elected sixth district vice-president for the International Association of Firefighters, which covers B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territory and the Yukon. He is one of 16 executive board members in North America whose association represents 305,000 professional firefighters.
The Burnaby Firefighters' 323 Charitable Society is one of the most progressive in the province, and Hurley has played a major role in its development. The society supports more than 40 charities on an annual basis and has raised hundreds of thousands dollars over the last 10 years. Hurley served as the society's vice-president in 1996 and then from 2001 to 2009 as president.
Hurley is proud of the many programs the charitable society has brought to the public, but none more important than the Healthy Snack Program for school kids started in 2002.
"We started with three schools and we are now up to 34: 26 elementary schools, four high schools and four community centres," Hurley said.
And still the beat goes on for Mike Hurley. In 2008, as a member of the B.C. Professional Firefighters' Association, Hurley set out to raise funds to find a property close to both Vancouver General and B.C. Children's Hospitals to assist citizens to deal with family burn victims, close enough to both hospitals. The facility, built by Concert Properties, opened in 2016 at 23rd and Main in Vancouver and includes eight suites on the second floor for families, outpatient facilities and a learning centre. Over the eight years of fundraising for the project, $15 million was realized and an arrangement was made with the City of Vancouver for the property.
Hurley also served from 2009 to 2015 on the Vancouver General Hospital Foundation board.
So what is next for the amazing retiree?
"I would in the future continue to make a real difference. My motto, whatever you do in life, just leave things a little bit better than you found them. I thank the fire administrators, all members who trusted me to represent them, all the men and women who I worked with directly over the years for being the ultimate professionals and making me look so good so many times."
Back when Hurley first joined the department, former Burnaby fire chief and mayor Bill Copeland encouraged him to get involved.
He's certainly done that - and a whole lot more.
- Brian Pound
