Black Fire Brigade Trains Next Generation Of Firefighters And Medical Technicians
Black Fire Brigade Trains Next Generation Of Firefighters And Medical Technicians
By Tia Carol Jones
Quention Curtis had the opportunity to see his first Black firefighter when he was 12 years old growing up in the Cabrini Green Housing Development. He knew early that it was what he wanted to be when he grew up, and focused on becoming just that.
Curtis retired from the Chicago Fire Department in 2024 after 37 years of service, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant. Curtis founded the Black Fire Brigade organization in 2018. As a firefighter, Curtis had the opportunity to spend 22 years on the department rescue squad. He was part of a specialized unit, on a specialized team that responded to the 69 W. Washington fire, Hurricane Katrina, E2 Nightclub and other major events that took place across the city and across the globe requiring first responder crews.
Curtis told the Citizen he founded the Black Fire Brigade because he had seen so many young people being shot, and he wanted to make a change in the lives of young people. He believed that by exposing young people to a career as a first responder would do just that. He also saw there was a need for more Black first responders. The mission of the Black Fire Brigade is to protect and promote the fire service, while providing continued education and resources to its members, along with preserving the history and heritage of Black firefighters.
When Curtis started there were 800 Black firefighters in the department and now there are 278. He believed that with exposure and representation, young people could see the need and they would want to become first responders.
“You can’t become what you can’t see. If you see us, you can become us, the same way I did,” he said.
Curtis said when he came on the job in the 1980s, he worked with firefighters who started working in the department during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. As years passed he continued to see change, but said what he didn’t see was people coming into the fire service who looked like him.
His advice for young Black people who are interested in being firefighters to join the Black Fire Brigade. Being in the organization provides participants with the resources, training and employment opportunities they need to become medical technicians and firefighters.
Curtis has the support of other firefighters and medical technicians across the country. He believes “if you teach a kid to save a life, they’ll be less likely to take one.” Since the Black Fire Brigade was started, more than 800 young people have come through the program. Young people who have completed the program have become part of the Chicago Fire Department, Chicago Police Department, New Orleans Police Department, Cook County Sherriff’s Department, Illinois State Police and Houston Police Department, as well as ambulance companies throughout Cook County.
The Black Fire Brigade recently started a new partnership with Malcolm X College to help increase the number of emergency medical technicians (EMT). Curtis said there is a drastic need for more EMT and emergency medical services (EMS) in Chicago.
For more information about the Black Fire Brigade, visit www.blackfirebrigade.com.
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