Dan Kleman is the Director and Fire Chief of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.

He is responsible for 1,300 employees, most of whom are uniformed personnel. Since arriving at JFRD in 2006, Kleman's priority has remained making the department one of the best in the country. Working with his leadership team, he has expanded management training and professional development for JFRD's officers, opened a new fire station and three replacement stations, identified more than $1 million in overtime cost savings and enhanced JFRD's recruitment program. Kleman recently developed a 10-year plan, unanimously adopted by City Council, that charts the department's expansion so it can continue to meet Jacksonville's rapidly growing demand for fire and emergency medical services.

Kleman came to Jacksonville in 2004 to serve as Mayor John Peyton's Chief Administrative Officer. In October 2006, he moved from City Hall to JFRD to lead the department while former Fire Chief Richard Barrett was on extended medical leave. Barrett retired from JFRD in mid-2007, and Kleman was confirmed as Director and Fire Chief in June 2007.

While Kleman has called Florida home for 35 years, he started his career in public service with the City of Dayton, Ohio – his home state. An opportunity to serve as City Manager in Tallahassee drew him to the Sunshine State in 1974. After 20-plus years as City Manager, Kleman headed south to Tampa where he served as County Manager of Hillsborough County for nearly a decade.

Kleman earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and his master's degree in governmental administration from the Wharton Graduate School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a graduate of the senior executive program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. 

During his career in public service, Kleman has been named Outstanding Public Administrator of the Year by both the Tallahassee and Tampa Bay chapters of the American Society of Public Administration. He's also invested his time in leading numerous professional groups, including the 8,000-member International City-County Management Association and the Florida City and County Managers Association. He also was an adjunct professor in Florida State University's Masters of Public Administration program and has been active in United Way. 

He and his wife Jan have four grown children and five grandchildren.