Charleston Fire Department Through the Years: During Black History Month, we continue to honor the contributions and enduring impact of the Charleston Fire Department’s African American firefighters. Featured today is a historic photograph from the 1930s showing the crews of the department’s two ladder companies gathered outside the John Street fire station, commonly known at the time as the “Truck House.”
The apparatus on the left is a 1920s-era tillered aerial ladder truck that was later modernized in the early 1930s with an updated tractor. To the right, firefighters are pictured with a horse-drawn city service ladder truck, mounted on a straight-frame, two-axle chassis with a tiller. Department records note that horses remained in service with CFD well into the 1930s, with the final horses retiring from the Truck House around 1939.
During this period, both ladder companies were staffed exclusively by African American firefighters. Their skill, dedication, and service laid an important foundation for the department long before CFD’s integration in the 1970s, leaving a legacy that continues to be honored today.
