Iona Tomassi
KOREAN
KOREAN_177_WORKSHEET
Ladder Company-40's wooden hand-operated aerial ladder was being maneuvered into
position against the building so that 19-year-old William Thomas, trapped at a window,
could be [Link] sizing up the situation, Williams ascended the ladder in an effort to
[Link] the tip of the aerial ladder approached the panic stricken youth, he made a
desperate lunge for it and was successful in grasping the ladder but his grip [Link] he
was beginning to fall, Fireman Williams leaped from the ladder he was standing on, caught
the aerial ladder with one hand and the falling Thomas with the other, thus preventing his
fall to the [Link] carrying the young man to the street and safety, Williams re-ascended
the ladder and assisted in the rescue of five other [Link] rescue was witnessed by two
reporters, and became the subject of an article entitled, "NY's Only Colored Fireman Saves
Six From Burning Building".When Fireman Williams reported to duty and recounted the
rescue to his captain, the latter told him that it was in the line of duty and that he would not
write it up for submission for a department [Link] another occasion, he and another
fireman discovered a fire in a loft building at Spring and Lafayette [Link] together,
they were able to rescue people from the burning [Link] the captain refused to
forward a recommendation; however, the fireman who shared in the rescue reported the
particulars to the captain of his company, Ladder 13, who ensured that he received
recognition of the performance of an heroic [Link] Williams was promoted to lieutenant
in 1927 he was assigned to the same Engine 55 where he had been a fireman, even though it
was traditional to assign a newly appointed officer to a firehouse other than where he
served as a [Link] original plan was to assign the first black officer to headquarters
and give him a desk job but Lieutenant Williams strongly objected, saying, "I took orders
from white officers; white firemen will have to learn to take orders from a colored
officer."The day Williams was promoted and assigned as an officer in Engine 55, Fireman
John O'Toole walked out of the firehouse, an action that made him immediately
[Link] Lieutenant Williams admonished an officer for misconduct, charges had to be
preferred against the fireman for failure to obey an order.A heavy fine was imposed by the
trial commissioner, and the results of the trial were published in the Department Orders;
this was official notification that when Lieutenant Williams, like any other officer, issued an
order, it was to be [Link] years after his first promotion, Wesley Williams was
promoted to captain in [Link] had become the company commander of the same
firehouse he had entered 15 years [Link] his tour of duty in Engine 55 Wesley Williams
had many near escapes in the area known as "Hell's Hundred Acres".Four years after his
promotion to captain, Williams was again promoted, this time to Battalion Chief in 1938; he
remained in the area because he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion on Mercer Street.=== The
Vulcan Society ===
The period from 1936 to 1939 was one of expansion for the fire [Link] 1936
sessions of the state legislature adopted bills limiting the hours of duty of all members of
the department below 'the Grade of Chief of department to one eight-hour tour in each 24
hours, with one day off each [Link] system was launched on March 1 and was completed
at the end of [Link] reduction in hours from 84 a week to 48 necessitated a considerable
personnel [Link] four black firemen who were members of the department in 1936
looked forward to the appointment of 16 additional black firemen who were on the civil
service list that was to expire in December [Link] of these black pioneers was fireman
Walter [Link] was appointed on December 14, 1937, and served as a member of
Ladder Company 41 in west [Link] attended evening sessions at the City College
of New York (CCNY) from which he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
1936, later obtaining his master's degree from CCNY in [Link] his retirement he began
a new career as a teacher in the New York public school [Link] later wrote about his
experiences, including what he called the "Jim Crow bed", saying:
"In some houses it was proposed to put a screen up to separate this bed from the rest of the
[Link] other houses the bed was placed next to the [Link] only were those
considerations humiliating and tending to perpetuate a "place" for the Negro, but this bed
situation limited the colored fireman to certain tours, certain vacations, and continually
presented him as a candidate for the worst assignment of his [Link] one Company the
Negroes weren't allowed to use the same table as the white firemen [Link] many
companies they weren't invited to use the table but could use it by themselves if they were
so bold as to use [Link] other companies the colored firemen weren't allowed to contribute
money for the commissary—the common stock of sugar, milk, butter, coffee, tea, salt,
pepper, mustard, etc.; and other company owned [Link] many of the houses the most
menial porter-type of work was assigned to the Negro [Link] is the work necessary
for the maintenance of [Link] toilet cleaning, furnace tending, ash removal or
whatever work that was considered uninviting was surely to be assigned to the colored
fireman.