As far back as 1826, Savannah, Georgia, boasted
of an Engine Company and an Ax and Bucket Brigade. Both composed solely
of Black slaves, which were unequaled for their efficiency and were the
pride of the country.
The Black Man has been part of the Fire Service
of our country since its inception. As in the rest of the country, the Black
Man and his heritage are directly related to the history and growth of the
City of Hartford and the Hartford Fire Department. On December 6, 1898,
William Henry Jacklyn, a North Hartford resident, became the first Black
Man to join the city's Fire Department. He served as a substitute firefighter
until 1903, forty years after President Lincoln's famous but not so truthful,
"Emancipation Proclamation." Then, he became a full volunteer
at Engine Company Two, located at Main and Sanford streets, in what was
at the time a semi volunteer department. In 1908, the department assumed
its present day status as a full time paid department. Mr Jacklyn was informed
that he could remain a firefighter in the department, but would not be allowed
to sleep in the same quarters with the white firefighters. Being a proud
man, Mr. Jacklyn refused to be a part of a "segregated department."
He was deprived of full participation in the Fire Service of the City of
Hartford, a job that he loved and had performed with utmost pride and professionalism
as a volunteer and distinguished himself during the Great Railroad Fire
of February 1914, following that he retired.
On October 4, 1948,
Six Black Men
took and passed a competitive examination and were appointed to the
Hartford Fire Department by Chief Henry G. Thomas, Sr. they were
- Henry Ashe Sr.
- Frank Davis Jr.
- Benjamin Laury
- Joseph
Kitchens
- James
Lewis
- Goerge B. Hayes
In September 1955
