Retired Baltimore firefighter honors African American trailblazers

By Maureen Harvie,

Published May 29, 2024 at 9:00 AM EDT

A Baltimore firefighter climbs up the ladder of his truck to operate a water cannon during a warehouse fire in northwest Baltimore, Friday, Jan. 14, 2005. The five-alarm blaze was fought by 200 firefighters. (AP Photo/Chris Gardner)

In 1953, the Baltimore City Fire Department desegregated, hiring its first group of ten Black firefighters. Seven decades later, the African American Firefighters Historical Society honors the continued service of Black firefighters across the country.

In January, the organization received a grant to support the creation of the International Black Firefighters Museum & Safety Education Center in East Baltimore.

We speak with George Collins, a retired Baltimore City firefighter and co-founder of the African American Firefighters Historical Society.

Links:

Tags

Maureen Harvie

Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.

See stories by Maureen Harvie

Melissa Gerr

Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'

See stories by Melissa Gerr