Leo Deason entered the fire service in 1992 after serving 4 years of active duty in the Army. He was employed with Homewood Fire and Rescue from 1992 until 2017 performing his 25 years of duty on an Advanced Life Support non-transport vehicle. when he retired. Leo was employed with Mc Calla Fire District as a paramedic and training officer during the period of 2004 until 2011. In 2010 Leo was employed by Herzing University to develop curriculum for an Emergency Medical Services program. The program was created and soon became a premier educational system for EMS certification. While at Herzing University Leo and his team were awarded in 2014 the Marilyn Grubbs Excellence in Education Award for leadership in EMS education. In 2022 Leo developed the concept of a non-profit EMS education system to attempt an effort to provide EMS students with an affordable high-quality education. In January 2023 Regional Training Institute was established by the means of Regional Paramedical Services and Sumiton Fire and Rescue forming a consortium.

Leo began his education at UAB, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice/Psychology in 1987. He continued his education achieving an Associate in Applied Science in Fire Science for Jefferson State Community College, Associate in Applied Science in Emergency Medical Services from Wallace State Community College Hanceville, and Associates in Science in History. He also achieved a Bachelor of Science in Public Safety Administration. He completed his Master of Science in Emergency Management from Jacksonville State University in 2007. Leo became an EMT in 1993, Intermediate EMT in 1994 and then completed the paramedic certification in 1995.