Dan Fire was born on February 18th, 1951, in North Tonawanda, New York alongside fraternal twin brother David. Dan was the seventh of eight siblings born to Robert and Mable Fire.

Dan’s first experience in wrestling resulted in a first-place youth tournament finish in 1963. By 1966 he was recognized as a captain on the varsity wrestling team at North Tonawanda High School as a sophomore and went on to place second in the Section VI Class A championships that season.

Leading into the 1968-1969 season, the Fire family moved to Chesapeake, Virginia. Dan competed on the wrestling team at Oscar Frommel Smith High School where he was also a senior captain.

Following graduation, Dan enlisted in the United States Air Force on July 28th, 1969. Nearly a year later he received orders to Da Nang Air Base in South Vietnam with the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing’s Field Maintenance Squadron. In Vietnam, Dan was responsible for the maintenance of forward air control aircraft, AC-119 gunships, and C-123’s as part of Operation Ranch Hand.

At 12:00am on the morning of July 5th, 1971, only four days after receiving promotion to the rank of sergeant, Fire and his unit endured a rocket attack on the base, one of sixty-five attacks that Sgt. Fire survived at Da Nang during his time there. Sgt. Fire’s unit suffered a direct hit and as a result he sustained hearing loss and other physical injuries. Sgt. Fire bravely rescued five fellow injured airmen during the attack. Sadly, all five airmen succumbed to their injuries.

Following a decorated career in the Air Force, Sgt. Fire received an honorable discharge from active service on July 27th, 1973. He was left with both physical and psychological injuries from war, including cardiovascular complications resulting from interacting with Agent Orange.

On May 16th, 2006, at Niagara Falls Air Force Base, nearly thirty-five years after the attack on Da Nang, Sgt. Fire was presented with the Purple Heart in recognition of his sacrifice and his injuries sustained at war.

Dan returned to wrestling as a coach in 1977 with Bonner Springs (Kansas) Wrestling Club and helped coach a number of clubs in the area until 1987.

Dan held a number of different jobs before beginning employment with the United State Postal Service in 1984. Dan retired from the USPS in 2004 after twenty-five years in government service, during which time he was also a city councilman, mayor, and postmaster in Effingham, Kansas.

Coach Fire returned to western New York starting with the 1988-1989 school year, coaching modified wrestling at Tonawanda City School District. Coach Fire took over as the head varsity coach at North Tonawanda first from 1990-1995 and then again from 2010-2016 after returning from Kansas.

During his time as head coach of the Lumberjacks, Coach Fire guided the program to numerous team and individual achievements. Coach Fire’s 1994-1995 team captured the Section VI Class A title and he was recognized as the WNY Wrestling Coaches Association 1995 Coach of the Year. That season, Coach Fire guided junior Dan Poulson to the NYS 250-pound title in Syracuse, becoming North Tonawanda’s first and only state champion wrestler to date.

Coach Fire retired with 113 total dual meet wins at North Tonawanda with three NYS tournament place winners. He was recognized as the Niagara Frontier League’s Coach of the Year in 1994 and 2016, the WNY WCA Coach of the Year in 1995 and again in 2016, and North Tonawanda athletics’ Coach of the Year in 2016.

Coach Fire is a member of the North Tonawanda Wrestling (2017) and Athletics (2021) halls of fame as well as the WNY Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2022).

In addition to his service to America and to wrestlers across the country, Coach Fire has dedicated his life to volunteering with individuals in need as well as with both secular and religious organizations.

Dan was united in marriage with Kay Shughart on July 20th, 2001. Dan and Kay currently reside in Edmond, Oklahoma.

The Upstate New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame is sincerely honored to recognize Coach Dan Fire with the 2025 Medal of Courage Award and induction to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.