Dickie Young, retired Honolulu fire chief, dead at 85

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Retired Honolulu Fire Department Chief Richard "Dickie" Young, who was a rookie firefighter when Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, died Nov. 23. He was 85.

Richard "Dickie" Young is credited with developing the fire science program at Honolulu Community College. Advertiser library photo

Young was born Aug. 2, 1917, in Honolulu and attended St. Louis School. He joined the Honolulu Fire Department in April 1941; eight months later, he found himself dodging bullets while fighting fires during the Dec. 7 attack.

Attilio Leonardi, the present fire chief, said Young was the last surviving Honolulu firefighter who was on duty during the attack. Three firefighters were killed and six wounded.

"He responded and one of the persons with him on the same truck got killed and another was wounded," Leonardi said. "So he was right in the heart of the battle, eight months in the department."

After the war, Young worked himself up the ranks and in 1959 was named deputy chief. In 1966, he became the department's 22nd chief, replacing William Blaisdell, who died in office.

"He had big shoes to fill," Leonardi said of Young. "Chief Blaisdell was a very popular chief. His brother (Neal) was the mayor so the department made great strides. It was Dickie Young's responsibility to carry on, which he did."

Young is credited with developing the fire science program at Honolulu Community College. Before that, there were no classes for potential firefighters to take. Leonardi said many of today's firefighters have gone through the program.

Capt. Edward Amina, a fire veteran, said Young also was responsible for expanding the department from one-man stations to the present level of staffing.

"At that time we had Chief Blaisdell and the mayor was his brother and they were a great team," said Amina, who has been with the department since 1963. "When (Chief Blaisdell) died, that teamwork continued under Chief Young. He carried on that dream of Chief Blaisdell."

Young retired from the department in 1969 and became the managing agent for the Princess Leilani condominium.

Young is survived by his wife, Lenore; son, Richard Jr.; daughters, Maydene Simmons, Laura Chong and Collette Jeremiah; eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandchild.

Visitation will be 9 to 10:45 a.m. Saturday at St. George Catholic Church, Waimanalo, with a eulogy at 10:45 and Mass at 11:30.; burial 1 p.m. at Hawaiian Memorial Park.