CHIEF HEALY

Chief John Healy led the Denver Fire Department for 33 years - a classical smoke eater who ushered in the age of motorized fire apparatus and oversaw a dramatic expansion of the city's emergency service.

The Associated Press described the chief as "one of the best known firefighters in the country."

Healy, who immigrated from Ireland, joined the fire department in 1894 and rose to the rank of fire chief in 1912.

He was a "fireman's fireman" - directing firefighting at many of Denver's largest blazes during the early 20th Century, including the Turner Hall conflagration in East Denver on July 9, 1920.

As an assistant fire chief, Healy was critically hurt in an acid spill at the Denver Post in 1904, but returned to duty after a six-month period of recuperation in California. 

"His physician has advised a lower altitude, and his friends have prevailed upon him to take a short vacation," the Rocky Mountain News reported on Oct. 14, 1904. 

Healy also served as president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

It's probably safe to say he loved his job.