African American Firefighters

From Slave to Firefighter

During the Jim Crow era, a period of wide-spread discrimination against African Americans that lasted to the mid-1960s, all-black fire stations in Los Angeles were sources of community pride. Sam Haskins, born enslaved in Virginia, became the city's first African American firefighter. He was fatally crushed in the line of duty in 1895 when the engine he had boarded hit rough pavement on North Main Street on the way to a fire and he fell into the large wheel next to the boiler. George Bright, hired in 1897, became the city's second black fireman. By 1902, he had attained the rank of lieutenant, and the Los Angeles Fire Department had a dilemma on its hands: segregate crews or allow a black man to supervise a white staff.

In 1924, the department assigned all of its African American firefighters, under Bright's supervision, to Fire Station No. 30, built in the Prairie School style in 1913 at the corner of Central Avenue and 14th Street. As more personnel were placed in this location, it grew overcrowded. In 1936, Fire Station No. 14 became the city's second all-black fire station. Angry white firefighters who had been based there resented being reassigned and trashed the station when they departed. The battalion chief ordered them back to clean up their mess. In 1949, a new Fire Station No. 14 was built next to the old one, which was demolished. Architect Earl T. Heitschmidt, known for the iconic LA Mart, designed the structure of reinforced concrete in the International Style.

A Battle for Equality

Segregation remained firmly in place through the late 1940s and early 1950s, limiting advancement beyond the rank of captain for African American firefighters.

In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court declared "separate but equal" public schools unconstitutional. About that time, activists began campaigning to force the desegregation of other public agencies, including the fire department. African American firefighters, represented by well-known attorneys Loren Miller and Thomas Neusom with the local chapter of the NAACP, pushed a campaign for integration from 1953 to 1955.

The California Eagle, a prominent African American-owned newspaper, also embraced the cause. The city began transferring African American firefighters, often one at a time, into all-white fire stations, where they encountered harassment and physical threats. By 1956, all the city's fire stations were finally integrated. Despite many successes, the department continued to grapple with institutional problems of inequity and racism for decades to come.

Stentorians are Established

One of those who joined the battle to counter-act racism in the 1950s was Arnett Hartsfield, a firefighter from Station No. 30, who with about 30 other black firemen formed a group called the Stentorians (derived from Stentor, a Greek Trojan War herald) to support equality in hiring, transfers, and promotions. Hartsfield earned his law degree from the University of Southern California in 1955 and in 1961 quit the fire department to practice law. Since 1997, Fire Station No. 30 has housed the African American Firefighter Museum. The station has been designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. Stations No. 30 and No. 14 are both listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

To learn more, visit the African American Firefighter Museum, located at 1401 S. Central Avenue. Check the museum website for information and hours. . This historical marker was erected in 2020 by City of Los Angeles. It is in South Los Angeles in Los Angeles County California