VIDEO: Fire engine honouring Black firefighting innovators returns for Black History Month in Brampton
Published February 1, 2024 at 3:51 pm
Brampton Fire and Emergency Services are hitting the road once again in a very special fire truck paying tribute to Black men and women who were pioneers in the firefighting community.
This year marks the second Black History Month that BFES has rolled out the truck, which features the contributions of Black firefighting trailblazers.
BFES even put out a short clip on YouTube showing off the truck and its colourful wrap.
The truck is wrapped in the names and stories of firefighters like Molly Williams, an enslaved person who was not only the first known female firefighter but also the first known Black firefighter in the United States back in 1818.
There’s also the story of Joseph W. Winters, who received the patent for a fire escape ladder mounted on fire wagons, and Garrett Morgan, who designed safety-hood smoke protection.
Morgan even made headlines in 1916 after using his gas mask to rescue men trapped in an underground tunnel, some 250 feet beneath Lake Erie.
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There are also inventors like George Reid, who in 1878 was the first person to use a pole to get to the first floor of his fire station – an innovation that would lead to the installation of fire poles in fire stations around the world.
BFES will be taking the truck around the community during February as part of the city’s Black History Month initiatives, and residents are encouraged to visit with firefighters and learn about the impact of Black inventors and emergency workers.
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