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Gus Waterford, Portland's first Black firefighter, was buried in an unmarked grave until Portland high school students raised a headstone for him in 2018.
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Mayor Wilson will honor the bravery and leadership of Portland’s Black firefighters, first responders, and community leaders by attending a Black Pioneers of Community Safety banquet hosted by Word is Bond, a local Black-led nonprofit, on February 27. Mayor Wilson is a board member emeritus with Word is Bond.
Mayor Keith Wilson also declared February Pioneer Black Firefighters of Portland Month. The proclamation highlights the legacy of Augustus “Gus” Waterford, who was the first Black firefighter to join Portland Fire & Rescue. He was stationed at Engine 6 in 1890, 1891, and 1892.
“While it takes a heavy dose of bravery to be a firefighter, it also takes an extra level of courage to be the first person to break down a social barrier,” the Mayor proclaimed. “PF&R’s first Black firefighters did not have the reassurance of seeing other people who looked like them on the job, but still had the wherewithal to visualize themselves as firefighters and the personal conviction to go after a career in the fire service.”
Waterford’s story had almost been forgotten until McDaniel High School teacher Jason Miller and his social studies class met up with local historian J. D. Chandler, who took them to Lone Fir Cemetery, where Waterford’s body lay in an unmarked grave. The students worked to create a gravestone for him in 2018. (Check out KPTV’s broadcast Gus Waterford’s story: Portland’s first Black firefighter remembered.)
Lieutenant Ted Mayes of PF&R partnered with Portland Community College to create the Gus Waterford Memorial Scholarship aimed at helping first-generation college students studying Fire Protection Technology at PCC.
PF&R also created a video honoring the life and legacy of Gus Waterford, narrated by Chief Sara Boone, Portland’s first Black female fire chief. “The spirit of Gus Waterford lives on today, not just in name but also in deed,” she says.
Mayor Wilson’s proclamation also honors William Carr, a Black firefighter who was sworn to the ranks of PF&R in 1951. He served Engine 8, 13, and 11.
“Today there are many people of color who put on the Portland Fire & Rescue uniform and proudly serve this city,” he proclaimed. “Now is the time to recognize those who paved the way for all the Black firefighters who came after them.”