VIDEO: Four decades after his hiring, crews still call a former Mesa firefighter legendary.
"I was the first Black firefighter hired in Mesa, and I think it was a huge learning curve on both sides, on my side and their side," said Edwin Jones.
Mesa Fire Department hired Jones in 1980. For 20 years, he worked for the department, eventually becoming a battalion chief. He said it was not always easy.
"Being the first in 1980, that's tough," said Jones.
This week, the department honored Jones on Facebook for Black History Month. Crews today call him a trailblazer.
"When we talk about trailblazing, there were a great number of people that he ran into who were not used to seeing people that look like me and him on the fire trucks," said Mesa Fire and Medical Department Deputy Fire Chief Forrest Smith. "This took a community to come along as well to be able to get used to seeing there were changes happening."