A celebration of life on Monday is planned for Richard Soo, who 25 years ago stepped into the 24/7 role as the Honolulu Fire Department’s first public information officer.

In his first year on the job, Soo was “tested under fire,” HFD Chief Attilio Leo­nardi said at the time.

From the 1999 Sacred Falls rock slide that killed eight and injured 32, to the Interstate Building high-rise fire, Soo seemed to be at nearly every major incident in Hono­lulu over the years. He quickly rose to be one of the top Hawaii public information officers known for his accessibility, accuracy, and even for proactively calling reporters to inform them of what was happening.

“Whenever there was a news story and I called Richard, he was so courteous; he was so kind; he was so accessible,” no matter how busy, said Jessica Lani Rich, former news director and reporter for KUMU 94.7.

“Richard was always on point. He had an amazing ability to tell the stories. He tells what is most important that people want to hear. In radio, you have to cut to the chase and get to the point. He had a special skill of doing that.”

He died Jan. 23 at home after undergoing surgeries and hospitalizations in 2023, his wife, Barbara, said. She declined to share publicly the cause of his death. He was 72.

Soo leaves behind the legacy of the Oahu Fire Prep Academy, which has grown from five students in his Papakolea garage to hundreds of graduates, including many who have gone on to become firefighters.

Soo was proud of the academy, which he started as the Papakolea Fire Academy in 2006 after retiring in 2003 from HFD. In 2022, he estimated that 900 people had gone through the program and nearly 125 had gone on to careers in firefighting and related fields.

“Mahalo Captain Soo for your dedication to helping aspiring firefighters fulfill their dreams,” Jen Naho­opii wrote March 23 on the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association’s tribute wall. “Thank you for encouraging me throughout the years to keep pushing. I wouldn’t be a firefighter today without the support from the Papakolea/Oahu Fire Prep Academy.”

When he turned over the reins in 2022, it was to younger retired captains.

“In just the eight years I’ve been doing this, (there have been) easily over 2,000 kids we’ve talked to, helped, inspired and motivated and set them up for their career in life,” said retired Capt. Curtis Aiwohi. “It’s because of Richard. He opened the door and he kept it open,” with “all the calls, emails, the follow- ups, teaching and inspiring.”

“He inspired a generation of kids that are in the firehouse now,” he said. “His legacy is going to live on. Our doors are going to stay open.”

Aiwohi said, “His whole passion was about giving back to his local kids. He always had a heart for those who didn’t have.”

Retired Capt. Earle Kea­loha estimates that of the 705 who came through the academy from 2016, 134 are in one or more capacity as a firefighter or emergency responder, and Soo worked with another 200 to 300 students prior to that.

Soo was a role model for Kealoha when he became a backup HFD spokesperson.

“He came across as the lay person, the voice of the firefighters at the scene and the department,” he said. “I took to heart, it’s not about me.”

Kealoha recalled the day Soo brought the news media through the perimeter of a brush fire in Mililani as firefighters were mopping up to allow more up-close coverage.

Retired Capt. Guy Katayama said he got close to Soo after working with the academy.

On April 1, 2000, Katayama responded to a blaze that gutted the top floor of the First Interstate Bank Building. After walking to the 16th floor, “visibility was zero. I was crawling,” he said. “My mask collapsed on my face. I kind of got lost, and I didn’t find my way out.”

He lost consciousness and ended up in the hospital, where he saw Soo on the TV news and was touched by his words.

“He referred to us as brothers,” said Katayama, who paused because it still makes him emotional. “It just showed his true concern for the department and his heart. … That was just the kind of guy he was.”

Born Dec. 17, 1951, Richard T.F. Soo II, one of five sons, graduated from Kame­hameha Schools in 1969 and took a job as a city bus driver.

He took a pay cut to join HFD in January of 1976 because it afforded him potential career advancement. That led to a 27-year career.

He got a fire science degree in 1984 from Honolulu Community College.

Before becoming PIO, he headed the Fire Prevention Bureau’s Plans Review Section.

But he fit the bill for PIO and answered the call. He learned by shadowing two experienced PIOs with the Las Vegas Fire &Rescue and the Portland, Ore., Fire Department.

His daughter, Marissa Faleolo, said: “Dad put everything he had into his children. Before he was a PIO, sometimes he had three jobs. He felt it important to put me through Punahou. He always had two jobs, and at one point he had three jobs. He was a really hard worker, and he wanted the best for us.”

When he took over the job in 1999, he was going through a divorce and was a single father during those years to two young sons, Faleolo said.

Although Barbara Soo was his Kamehameha Schools classmate, they didn’t meet until decades later on Facebook and married in 2014, she at 62 and he a year younger, she said.

“We both were married before, and we both lost spouses,” she said.

Barbara Soo said her husband’s “family is the media people. He never says no whenever someone calls him. Anything they wanted. They were his family.”

Soo was so popular with the media that one year the Hawaii chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Gridiron show featured a sketch with lyrics, “Capt. Soo, we love you.”

Rich, who became Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii (VASH) president, organized a retirement party when Soo retired, and when fire damaged Soo’s house she organized a fundraiser to raise money to help.

Soo volunteered with VASH, served on its board of directors, and Rich said she would call him to go with her “to the tragic cases,” because of his compassion.

“Richard had a heart of gold,” she said.

He displayed that compassion when he donated his bone marrow in 1995 to a 28-year-old Oklahoma woman, helping to extend her life.

Soo is also survived by sons Davit and Blaise Soo; brothers Eric, Michael, Elliott and Wendell Soo, and two grandchildren. He is predeceased by parents Richard T.F. and Alice Soo, and brother Steven Soo.

A celebration of life will be held Monday at Mililani Memorial Park, Mauka Chapel. Visitation begins at 9:30 a.m. followed by a serv­ice at 11 a.m., lunch at noon and inurnment, 2 p.m., Diamond Head Memorial Park. Aloha attire.