The Vulcan Society, founded in 1940, is a fraternal organization of black firefighters in New York City.
History Early black recruits to the fire department Following the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ("separate but equal") Supreme Court decision and the 1898 election of Governor Theodore Roosevelt, employment opportunities for black men began to slowly expand. On December 6, 1898, a man named William H. Nicholson was assigned to Brooklyn's Engine Company 6 veterinary department to feed the horses and shovel manure. Engine Company 6 was established in 1869, the year of Nicholson's birth, when it was located at 14 High Street before subsequently relocating, in 1892, to 189 Pearl Street. Engine Company 6, originally a part of the Brooklyn-Queens Fire Department, was inducted into the New York City Fire Department on January 18, 1898, renumbered Engine Company 106 on October 1, 1899, and was again renumbered to its present designation Engine Company 206 on January 1, 1913. Nicholson is known as the first black, New York City fireman of the paid New York City Fire Department, however in 1818 a female slave named Molly Williams had been in the service of Oceanic Engine Company of the old Volunteer Fire Department of New York. According to retired Battalion Chief Wesley Augustus Williams, "Nicholson did not work as a firefighter but was assigned to take care of the horses."
The second black fireman was appointed to the department on September 21, 1914, two years after William Nicholson retired and died. He was John H. Woodson (born 1886), a native of Virginia like Nicholson before him. Woodson's former occupation is listed as mail messenger. John Woodson, like Nicholson, entered the department in his late twenties (Woodson was 28, Nicholson 27). This is a pattern that continues to exist today among minorities appointed to the department. Fireman Woodson, unlike his predecessor, was assigned to Ladder Company 106 in the Greenpoint Section of Brooklyn, to perform regular fire-fighting duties. Woodson had just completed his second year as a fireman when he was awarded a Class III medal for valor (September 22, 1916), and he received a Class "B" citation July 30, 1918. Fireman Woodson transferred to Engine Company 5 in Manhattan from Ladder Company 106, Brooklyn, on May 1, 1918. He spent four months in Engine 5 before transferring to Engine Company 298 in Queens. It was in Engine Company 298 that he spent the majority of his career in the department – August 1, 1918 to March 1, 1934, though he worked in two other companies, Engine 238 and Engine 303 (both in Queens) before retiring on February 1, 1936.
Fireman Woodson had been a member of the department approximately four and a half years when he read an article in The Chicago Defender, a weekly newspaper for black readers, of the impending appointment of another black fireman to the New York City Fire Department, and he wrote to Wesley Williams on January 6, 1919. It was evident that Woodson felt unable to enter that inner circle of companionship enjoyed by his brother white firemen. He wrote that, as a "race" man, he felt it was his duty to inform the newcomer of the conditions which existed in the department at that time. He went on to say that the new fireman would find "quite a lot of jealous and narrow minded men" in the department. On the subject of race relations he warned: "Don't force your friendship on anybody and if there is an argument don't join them; just say I'm neutral." "If they speak of our race before you, in your presence, as, 'Niggers', pay no attention – go and do something or take a newspaper and read." However, he concluded his letter, "With best wishes for success and a pleasant career in the Fire Department".
Wesley Augustus Williams Wesley Williams was a champion amateur weight lifter, and achieved a perfect score of 100% in the physical examination to enter the department. He was the one candidate of the 2,700 competing to score a 100% on the entrance physical examination and only the second man in the history of the department to gain a perfect score. Five years after entering the department in 1924, Williams won the heavyweight boxing championship at a weight of 185 lbs.
Williams was interviewed in 1976, when aged eighty, by Vulcan Society historian John L. Ruffins. Williams was a well-educated grammar school graduate. Following his retirement from the department on April 1, 1952, he remained as active in the business affairs and social life of Harlem. Williams recalled how appreciative he was to receive the letter from Fireman John Woodson a few days before he was appointed in 1919, and commented on how accurately Woodson had stated the facts and the problems he was to face.
Williams had been placed number 13 on the civil service list for appointment as Fireman, New York City Fire Department. Even with his exceptionally high standing on the civil service list it was necessary to present character references. Williams' father was the head Red Cap at Grand Central Station and had developed a personal relationship with the Vanderbilts, the Goulds and the Morgans who were the owners of the railroads and passed through the terminal frequently. Those who signed character references for the young Wesley included former president Theodore Roosevelt. Williams claimed that a previous employer of his father, Mr. Thawley, a millionaire and a heavy contributor to Tammany Hall, was instrumental in letting the "powers that be" (including the fire commissioner and the chief of the department) know that Wesley Williams was in the fire department to stay.
Williams was assigned to Engine Company 55, located at 363 Broome Street, Manhattan, in a predominantly Italian section. When Williams reported for duty on January 10, 1919, the captain retired to avoid the stigma of being the captain of a company where a black fireman was to perform duty. In addition, each man in the company attempted to transfer, stating that they did not wish to work and sleep in the same firehouse with a black man. The department believed if any transfers were permitted, it would have been impossible to keep any fireman in the company, as a result all transfers were denied for at least one year. Fireman Williams was both ignored and ostracized and was given no direct instructions as to his duties or responsibilities. The company was now without a captain and five or six months passed before a replacement was assigned.
When attending his first major emergency, Fireman Williams was ordered to take the nozzle of the hose line down into the cellar. The rest of the company was behind him to assist in moving the hose and to back him up. After the company had moved into place in the smoky cellar a series of explosions occurred and flames rolled over the probationary fireman's head in waves as he operated the nozzle and directed the stream. The company, including the officer, retreated to the street, leaving the probationary fireman in the cellar to extinguish the fire aloneZambrano, Tom. Warriors of Fire, pages 54–55. Battalion Chief Ben Parker, on discovering that the probationary man was still in the cellar, chastised the company and the officer for their actions. Fireman Williams established a reputation as a courageous fireman who would not back out in the face of adverse conditions.
Segregation within the fire department The bed assigned to Wesley Williams was later to be the same bed assigned to any black fireman in any firehouse where he was assigned to perform duty. In Engine 55 it was the bed next to the toilet. No white fireman used the bed, even though the bed linen was changed after each man finished a night tour. This "black bed" became a source of bitter contention for many years in many firehouses.
Through his previous experience as a parcel post truck driver, Williams had become proficient in the operation of motor vehicles. It was at this point in the history of the department, horses were being replaced by two-wheel Christie tractors, thus motorizing both steamers and aerial trucks. An 84-hour work week came into being, a system that was to remain practically unchanged until 1939 when the three-platoon eight-hour plan was adopted. The shortage of firemen who possessed the mechanical ability to operate the new gasoline-driven tractors led to Williams being asked to take the apparatus out of quarters and then back it in. He executed the maneuver so expertly he was assigned as the apparatus driver. This assignment caused much resentment against Williams among the members of Engine 55. It prompted Assistant Chief of Department Patty Walsh to comment that "Of all the men in this Department, he (The Captain) had to pick that man to drive the apparatus!" Tradition dictated that the Motor Pump Operators should be the senior most experienced members of a fire company; the fact that Wesley Williams had little seniority, coupled with the fact that he was black, was not offset by the fact that he was the best qualified to operate the apparatus.
He did however have the run of the quarters, and found the roof to be unoccupied. There in the hose tower, where the wet hoses were hung after a fire he built a gym and kept a bookcase and this was where he spent his off hours exercising and studying fire manuals. The tower was quiet, it extended from above the firehouse roof to the cellar. It was in this small private gym that he continued his routine of physical fitness. An excellent swimmer, when uptown he spent time in the Harlem YMCA where he was schooled in the 'Manly Arts' by some of the sports best, old time prize fighters including Sam Langford, Joe Jeanette and Panama 'Al' Brown. When he was finally called to the cellar of engine co 55, it was not to discuss the merits of gloves vs knuckle. It was to settle a difference of opinion, in the then accepted manner. Whoever left the cellar first was vindicated. Having worked on the sand bag and punching bag until he was proficient led him to have an unfair advantage over the other firemen and having never failed to come out of the cellar first, the message was clear that he could box. In 1924 he entered the FDNY boxing tourney and became the heavyweight champ, only then was it revealed that he was a natural lefty and had a mean left hook that took everyone by surprise.
On Sunday morning, October 19, 1920, a year and ten months after Williams had entered the department, he was walking with his father on St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem on his way to work. As the two men passed 187 St. Nicholas Avenue they noticed Ladder Company 40 had responded to a fire and had already placed a portable ladder against the front of the fire building. As he and his father approached the building, flames could be seen licking out of the front windows and smoke was partially covering the front of the building. 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 rescued. After sizing up the situation, Williams ascended the ladder in an effort to assist. As 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 faltered. As 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 street. After carrying the young man to the street and safety, Williams re-ascended the ladder and assisted in the rescue of five other children. The rescue was witnessed by two reporters, and became the subject of an article entitled, "NY's Only Colored Fireman Saves Six From Burning Building".Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library, 135th Street