Raúl Gándara-Cartagena (1895-1989) was fire chief

Fire chief

Fire Chief is a top executive rank or commanding officer in a fire department, either elected or appointed...

 in Ponce, Puerto Rico

Ponce, Puerto Rico

Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...

, and the first and longest-serving Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 fire chief. He served from 1942 to 1972.

Public service

In 1930, Raúl Gándara-Cartagena entered the Ponce Fire Department as Commander. In 1942, the Puerto Rico Legislature created the Servicio de Bomberos de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Fire Service), and the governor of the island at the time, Rexford Guy Towell, selected Raúl Gándara -- who at the moment was Captain of the Ponce Fire Corps -- to become Puerto Rico's first state fire chief. Gandara was Puerto Rico state chief for 30 years, making him the longest-serving state fire chief ever.

Firefighter's handbook

In 1951, Gandara wrote a book on the firemen's service, which became a firemen's manual in several Latin American countries. The name of the book is "Cuerpo de bomberos: Manual del bombero" (Firefighters Corps: A Firefighter's Handbook) It is the only technical fire management manual known to exist in Spanish. The book has been adopted as the official manual in various countries of Central and South America.

Legacy

In Ponce, there is public housing complex named in his memory.
In Lares, Puerto Rico

Lares, Puerto Rico

Lares is a small mountain municipality of Puerto Rico's central-western area located north of Maricao and Yauco; south of Camuy, east of San Sebastián and Las Marias; and west of Hatillo, Utuado and Adjuntas. Lares is spread over 10 wards and Lares Pueblo...

, (Lares Electoral Precinct 48) there is a street named after Gándara.
In 1999, the Puerto Rico legislature created the Raúl Gándara Award, that is given to the best state firefighter. Gandara has also been recognized as an outstanding civic leader at Ponce's Park for the Illustrious Ponce Citizens.

See also

• Ponce, Puerto Rico
  Ponce, Puerto Rico
  Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
  
  
• List of famous Puerto Ricans