BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — Congratulations to Boca Raton Assistant Fire Chief Raul Travieso, retiring after nearly four decades of service to the community. From our friends at Fire Rescue:
Fire Chief Thomas R. Wood, members of Boca Raton Fire Rescue, family and friends came to 6500 Congress Avenue to honor Raul Travieso, Assistant Fire Chief of Boca Raton Fire Rescue Services Department who retired after serving 39 years with the department. The ceremony brought members from other departments of the city as well as Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie and Assistant City Manager George Brown.
Raul began his career in 1974 after proudly serving his country in the military. He was promoted to Lieutenant on January 25, 1988. On August 14, 1989 he became the departments Communications Lieutenant. During his first three year tenure in this position he was responsible for bringing Emergency Medical Dispatch to our dispatch center. In 1992 Raul went back to a company officers position where he stayed until December of 1999. Returning to a 40 hours position Raul served as a Fire Inspector in the Fire & Life Safety Division. On March 5, 2001 he resumed his role as Communications Lieutenant. He was promoted to Division Chief of Communications on September 30, 2003. On October 23, 2006 he was promoted to Assistant Fire Chief of the Logistics & Support Division. Finally, on October 5, 2009 Raul was transferred as Assistant Fire Chief of Administration, where he would finish his career.
In 1988, Raul became one of our first Critical Incident Stress Debriefing officers. In 1991, he took additional classes and became a Hazardous Materials Technician. He was a CERT and CPR instructor. In 1994 he performed CPR while off-duty where he saved the life of Mr. Donald Strassler. Continuing on his quest for knowledge Raul would earn his Associates degree in 1998.
In 2007, he received high accolades for his work on 800 megahertz radio re-banding project. Also in 2007, he received a Department Innovation Award for the acquisition of our classroom furniture. And in 2013 he received a Department Excellence award for coordinating the Holiday Gift Drive. Raul has also been instrumental in honoring many firefighters that have gone before us. It was his project to create the display cases for retiree’s badges and issue retired firefighter badges. We can also thank Raul for authoring our Department Appearance Policy which adds a professional look and standard to our department members. In 2009 Raul coordinated the 9-11 ceremony that Boca Raton hosted at the Mizner Park Amphitheater. In 2011, 2012 and 2013, Raul took the reins of organizing our Fire Expo held on the Florida Atlantic University campus. Raul has served as the President of the Boca Raton Firefighter & Paramedic Benevolent Association and was instrumental in putting together and sharing his long term vision of creating a “Firefighter Memorial” for Boca Raton. Raul’s most lasting legacy is the Honor Guard and the Pipes & Drums. In 1992 Raul founded our Honor Guard.
The Honor Guard team took a First Place win at Fire Rescue East in 1998, and many other first place wins and honors throughout the years. The team has performed at local and state events as well as traveling throughout the country. Under his expert tutelage Raul helped develop and train our award winning Fire Explorer Honor Guard Team. Raul has served on the Board of Directors for the Florida Fire Service Honor Guard Association since 2003 and has been instrumental in helping to write protocols for Firefighter Line of Duty Death Services. In August he started the Pipes & Drums Corps which continues to grow and gain notoriety throughout the state. Raul’s accomplishments are a fitting tribute to his years of dedicated service to the department and our community. He leaves a lasting legacy that will be seen at every event and ceremony. Raul is a leader, a mentor, and a friend that will be truly missed.
