(COLORADO SPRINGS) — It was not the career path Randy Royal imagined, raised in Monument, he traded in the snow for some sunshine, moving to Florida for college to become a youth social worker. However, his passion for emergency medical work paved the way for the career he was destined for.

Since 1987, Chief Royal has served in different roles throughout the Fire Department as a Battalion Chief, Shift Commander, Deputy Chief, and working for 28 years as a paramedic.

Back in the spring of 2021, Chief Royal was sworn in as the newest Colorado Springs Fire Chief.

For the past two years, Chief Royal has held this leadership position, in watching over Southern Colorado. Chief Royal laughed as he said, “I tell people I put out different types of fires nowadays, they’re different types of challenges, right? But everything I’m doing… is to make sure that all the people out in the field have the tools and the staffing and the equipment they need to get the job done and serve our community at a high level.”

While the city of Colorado Springs becomes home to people from all over the country, Chief Royal reflected on what it means to come back and protect the mountains he grew up in.

“I mean it’s been a privilege to serve people I know within the community, obviously a lot of people I don’t know,” Chief Royal said. “Since I’ve been here, because I started part-time and volunteering up in Monument in 1978, I’ve seen four or five decades worth of change.”

Over the years, Chief Royal has responded to a number of tragedies including the Waldo Canyon and Black Forest Fires, Martin Drake Power Plant Fire, as well as active shooter situations.

“It’s more dangerous than it was 30 years ago,” Royal said. “We have more rescues than we did 30 years ago, and it’s more volatile than it was 30 years ago and it all has to do with the products we have in our houses.”

While first responders undergo training for these emergency situations, when they occur in real time, they must put these capabilities to the test. “When those things actually happen, it makes me proud to see how they come together, and they use those skill sets.” Chief Royal said.

During the Club Q shooting, the emergency response time from CSFD was within seven minutes of the first call for help.

“We tried to figure out the resources we need and put the skill sets together and work hard,” Chief Royal said. “So, on Club Q, those all came together with both us and CSPD and that time turnaround to get all those patients on scene and get them treated was unmatched from other areas.” 

Despite the city experiencing tragedies, the resilience and gratitude of Colorado Springs have significantly impacted CSFD.

“I think of our city in general and our community in all those situations, including Waldo and Black Forest and the flooding and even some of our active shooter situations, the support from the community, whether it’s just calling firefighters up and thanking them or coming by the station to provide donuts or whatever, just that means a lot to our crews, for the community to reach out like that,” said Chief Royal.

In October, Chief Royal was announced as the 2023 Georga Mazzotti Fire Chief of the Year for the state of Colorado. This award is given to an individual who embodies positive contributions to leadership, innovation, professional development, integrity, service to the public, and contributions to the Colorado Fire Service.

“They snuck it up on me, but it’s very humbling and definitely an honor to receive it,” Chief Royal said. “I guess the big difference is that it’s from outside of our department, it’s from across the state and is from a group of chiefs from across the state and the division of fire from the state of Colorado.”

While the stories of serving others fill Chief Royal’s heart, there’s one he shared of the love CSFD has for making a difference in strangers’ lives. It was last November when a man apparently fell putting up his Christmas lights and was critically injured.

“They stayed on scene, put up the rest of the Christmas lights after the family took off and that guy ended up passing away from his injuries. When the wife and the daughter came back, they were just overwhelmed with the service, that’s what it’s about. It’s serving other people and helping them out and making their days better and you can’t put money on that.”

The love of serving others is in the blood of Chief Royal’s family, with his own son following in his footsteps. “My son is a lieutenant, he’s been on 18 years now, which is crazy, but he’s an officer at Station One downtown and doing good,” Chief Royal said. “So, there’s a lot of family tradition there as well, and it’s fun to see that.”

In addition to family joining the service, Chief Royal wants the Southern Colorado community to know that they are continually looking for more individuals to join the department.

“We have another academy starting next June and they’ve already been notified,” Chief Royal said. “The process for the following year is open and we want to reflect our community with diversity… but whatever your background, if you have an interest, and the key thing, you want to serve other people — reach out to us and we’ll help you get there.”