Former Denver Fire Chief Richard Gonzales leaves legacy of inclusion, respect.
Richard Gonzales never dreamed of becoming a firefighter when he was a child.
He certainly never thought he would become the youngest man to lead the Denver Fire Department, or the first Latino appointed to be chief. He never thought that he would be the first of his 13 siblings to earn a college degree.
But a lifelong dedication to learning and an unwavering commitment to his native Denver propelled him quickly through the ranks of the fire department and government service, his friends and family said.
Gonzales died Monday after a long battle with cancer. He was 67.
Born on Feb. 10, 1951, Gonzales was the youngest of 14 kids and lived his entire life in the city.
Gonzales joined the fire department in 1972. He had just dropped out of Colorado State University. He needed a job to care for his young daughter. He didn’t want to be drafted and deployed to Vietnam.
He heard that working in public safety would save him from the draft. That wasn’t true, but firefighting became a lifelong career. He rose quickly through the ranks. He was charismatic, thoughtful and deeply committed to public ser-
vice, his wife, Mary Kanan, said.
“It made him irresistible,” she said.
At age 36, Gonzales became the youngest person ever appointed fire chief, when he took the position in 1987. He also became the first Latino to hold the top job at a time when there were few minorities in the department.
Nick Nuanes, who joined the department a year after Gonzales and later became chief, said seeing a Latino lead the department moved him.
“He had a face that looked like me,” said Nuanes, who is also Latino. “I think that helped a lot of the minority firefighters. We saw that there is the ability to rise up in the organization and become a leader.”
But being young and Latino also undermined Gonzales’ authority as he attempted to push change in the department.
“He already had two strikes against him,” Nuanes said.
Gonzales set safety standards for his firefighters that were years ahead of their time. He created a smoking policy in Denver firehouses that limited smoking to a small area of the building. He required firefighters to wear masks and helmets if they were working around a fire of any size.
Gonzales also pushed for policies that encouraged minorities and women to join the department, including a controversial letter that suggested to city officials that the department promote women and minorities over white men who scored higher on civil service exams. He created a program that required firefighters to volunteer in the community and mandated annual training about sexual harassment. Not only did he want minorities to join the department, he wanted them to feel safe and welcome, his wife said.
“It’s important to remember at the time were very traditional,” said Eileen Nuanes, a close friend of Gonzales. “None of this was part of their routine. That’s why he got pushback.”
While serving as fire chief, Gonzales returned to college. He graduated summa cum laude from Regis University in 1991 and earned a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Colorado Denver four years later.
He married Mary Kanan the same year he earned his bachelor’s degree and took on the responsibility of raising three stepchildren as well as four children from his previous marriage. Although Gonzales and Kanan had attended North High School at the same time, they didn’t meet until their 20th class reunion.
Gonzales retired from the fire department in 2001 after more than 29 years, but he never stopped working.
“I think everyone should have two or three careers,” he told The Denver Post after announcing his retirement.
He then worked as the vice president of Mile High United Way, and in 2006 Gov. Bill Ritter appointed Gonzales to serve as the executive director of the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration. He ran for an at-large seat on the Denver City Council in 2010 but lost.
“I am the youngest of 14 children and the only one who graduated high school and college,” he told The Denver Post after announcing his candidacy. “I have a big debt to repay the city of Denver.”
He continued his lifelong volunteer work in the Latino community until his death. He remained a staunch Dodgers fan and traveled to see the team in the playoffs, his family said. In his later years, he relished every chance to play with his five grandchildren.
“In his heart he was always a kid,” stepdaughter Vanessa Correa said. “He was always accessible and ridiculous and goofy. His willingness to meet people where they are was pretty phenomenal, and I think that’s where he found much of his success.”