VIDEO: More than 71 years after the first Black career firefighters were hired in the City of Richmond, three local artists are paying tribute through a mural to the original 10 men who were selected out of 500 applicants.
On July 1, 1950, the Richmond Fire Department (RFD), then named the Richmond Fire Bureau, hired Charles L. Belle, William E. Brown, Douglas P. Evans, Harvey S. Hicks II, Warren W. Kersey, Bernard C. Lewis, Farrar Lucas, Arthur L. Page, Arthur C. St. John and Linwood M. Wooldridge. They were assigned to Engine Company #9 at 5th and Duval Streets in Richmond.
Not only were these 10 men the first Black career firefighters in the City, but also they were the first Black career firefighters in the Commonwealth of Virginia.