OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Chief Richard Kelley is retiring following 35 years of service with the Oklahoma City Fire Department. Kelley, who first joined the department in 1991, has served as fire chief since 2017.
Kelley originally passed up a career in accounting to enter the fire service, rising through every rank in the department before being named chief. Over his tenure as chief, he managed 1,100 personnel and led major department safety and health initiatives.
“Doing something different every day and serving people, that was really what drew me into the service,” Kelley said. He added that climbing through every rank gave him valuable perspective in executive leadership: “It did allow me to fill the shoes of every position that, you know, when you’re in a leadership role you can speak to someone and know that you’ve been in their shoes.”…