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Va. FD celebrates 75th anniversary of first Black career firefighters

Richmond marked the anniversary of hiring Virginia’s first professional Black firefighters, honoring the legacy of Engine Co. 9 and the men who broke barriers in 1950

richmond plaque.jpg

Photo/Richmond Fire Department

By Sam Mostow
Richmond Times-Dispatch

RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond hired the commonwealth’s first professional Black firefighters 75 years ago. On Tuesday’s anniversary, the community commemorated them.

“They studied the craft, they excelled at the craft and they shared the knowledge that they gained with anyone that was willing to accept it in the department,” said Richard Lewis a battalion chief of the Richmond Fire Department. “Even at that time, as time progressed, they weren’t allowed to be officers. They weren’t allowed in most spaces before 1963, but that didn’t stop them from serving.”

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On July 1, 1950, the city established Engine Company No. 9 and stationed Virginia’s first unit of Black firefighters on North Fifth Street. Harvey S. Hicks became the city’s first Black fire captain in September 1961; he and fellow firefighter Douglas P. Evans lost their lives on June 14, 1963 during a rescue attempt. Less than a month later, on July 6, Richmond integrated its fire department.

Though Richmond demolished the Engine Company No. 9 fire station in 1968, a historical marker plaque rests where the building once stood, honoring Lt. Charles L. Belle, William E. Brown, Douglas P. Evans, Captain Harvey S. Hicks II, Warren W. Kersey, Bernard C. Lewis, Farrar Lucas, Deputy Battalion Chief Arthur L. Page, Arthur C. St. John, Lt. Linwood M. Wooldridge, Frederick J. Robinson and Lt. Oscar L. Blake.

The event on the top floor of Richmond’s Main Street Station included remarks from Mayor Danny Avula; Carol Adams, the Petersburg police captain; and Jeffery Segal, Richmond’s interim fire chief.

A documentary crew previewed its upcoming work on Engine Company No. 9, “Courage in Fire,” which is scheduled to release later this year. The work features interviews with four living members of Engine Company No. 9, one of whom attended the event.

“To see black and white photos of historical events kind of dehumanizes the experience,” said Lewis, the Richmond battalion chief. “… Once you actually meet these people and you realize that every historical event was shaped by someone just like us, it’s humbling and it’s inspiring all at the same time.”

During the first decade of Engine Company No. 9’s existence, the Virginia General Assembly voted to build a highway — what is now Interstate 95 — through Jackson Ward, separating a predominantly Black community. Similar racial injustices occurred in the fire department; Black firefighters were not allowed to sleep in the same bedrooms or eat in the same kitchens as their white counterparts.

“All of those things that happened historically were also happening in the firehouse, and they were able to build those bridges and navigate through those times,” Lewis said. “They got people to change their attitudes and change perceptions and change behaviors.”

When Hicks and Evans died, Adams said the entire company could have lost their lives, since the entirety of Engine Company No. 9 responded to the fatal fire. That led to the fire department’s integration.

Seventy-five years later, firefighters of all races filled the train station for dinner and a reception.

“The more things change, sometimes the more things stay the same,” Lewis said. “You don’t want to break it down into numbers of Black and white, but diversity in general, you have a rich diversity in the fire department now — not just in physical characteristics and traits, but philosophies and ideologies, levels of education. The one thing that remains the same is the dedication for service.”

Adams helped coordinate the event and reflected on her predecessors.

“This is my responsibility now, to continue to make sure that people don’t forget them, acknowledge them and recognize them for their efforts,” Adams said. “We have a duty to continue that and stand up when times are not good, and to occupy spaces when they are not welcoming to us, so that we can continue on and that we can have diverse public safety because it takes all of us.”

To Adams, that makes celebrating Engine Company No. 9 all the more important.

“When we go out to communities, everybody is looking for somebody they can relate to,” Adams said. “That’s what it’s all about, to be able to mentor and be that role model for younger kids. I love wearing my uniform, and the babies come up to me and they’ll say, ‘Are you a real police lady?’ It’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m a real police lady, and you can be one, too.’ When you see it, you can be it.”

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