Raúl Gándara Cartagena

Not to be confused with José N. Gándara Cartagena.
Raúl Gándara Cartagena
Born 1895
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Died 1989
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Nationality Puerto Rican
Occupation Puerto Rico Fire Chief
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Gándara and the second or maternal family name is Cartagena.

Raúl Gándara Cartagena (1895–1989) was fire chief in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and the first and longest-serving Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 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.[1] Gandara was Puerto Rico state chief for 30 years, making him the longest-serving state fire chief ever.

Bomberos de Ponce

The Ponce municipal fire corps (Spanish: Cuerpo de Bomberos Municipales de Ponce) was founded in 1883.[2] Starting in the 1940s, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico opened and operated a fire corps in Ponce functioning in parallel to the Ponce municipal corps.[3] In 1989 the municipal Cuerpo de Bomberos de Ponce were incorporated into the structure of the state's Cuerpo de Bomberos de Puerto Rico under the concept that Ponce residents would enjoy enhanced services and more modern facilities.[4] By 2011 this promise had either not materialized or fell into disgrace [5] and on 15 May 2012, the city once again re-initiated its own municipal fire corps.[6]

Firefighter's handbook

In 1951, Gandara wrote "Cuerpo de bomberos: Manual del bombero" (Firefighters Corps: A Firefighter's Handbook), a book on the firemen's service, which became a firemen's manual in several Latin American countries.[7]

Legacy

In Lares, Puerto Rico, (Lares Electoral Precinct 48) there is a street named after Gándara.[8] 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.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Government of Puerto Rico. Firefighters Service at the Wayback Machine (archived December 15, 2005).
  2. ↑ Tour the Old Ponce Firehouse Museum. NewMedia Holdings, Inc. 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  3. ↑ Government of Puerto Rico. Firefighters Service. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  4. ↑ Tour the Old Ponce Firehouse Museum. NewMedia Holdings, Inc. 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  5. ↑ Héroes en el mundo: olvidados aquí. Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 30. Issue 1454. 12 October 2011 (sic, 2012). Page 4. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  6. ↑ Estrena Ponce bomberos municipales. Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 30. Issue 1485. 16 May 2012. Page 11. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  7. ↑ Fundacion Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades. Puerto Rico Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
  8. ↑ Manuel Álvarez Rivera. Elecciones en Puerto Rico.
  9. ↑ Civism. TravelPonce. Retrieved 16 May 2012.

See also

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