Cummings: new fire chief in town
Following the family tradition
Brian Cummings was named the newest Los Angeles Fire Chief this year, but it was not always his intention to lead the city’s fire safety.
“My father always encouraged us to pursue an education,” said Cummings. “He never encouraged me to be a firefighter. I wanted to be an electronic engineer. That was my goal.”
After graduating Loyola High School, he entered UCLA thinking his destiny was going to lead him away from the family tradition. But soon he began to realize it was in his blood to serve the people. So he decided to become a firefighter.
His father, Louis Cummings Jr., had been a Los Angeles firefighter for 30 years, and had once served as president of the Stentorians, an organization of African American firemen who had joined together to fight racism. Beside that, Brian had known Arnett Hartsfield—the legendary “rookie” who had joined the Fire Department in 1940—since he was a boy. “All the African American firefighters back then knew each other,” he said.
Over the years, the chief has seen his fair share of horror, but through it all he understands his purpose and importance of service.
“The most a heroic thing a firefighter does is to sign up to be a firefighter,” he said.
“My whole purpose for being there is to provide service—protect lives and property and to be of service to people in need.”
http://www.ourweekly.com/los-angeles/brian-cummings-becoming-la-fire-chief-was-his-destiny
Brian Cummings was named the newest Los Angeles Fire Chief this year, but it was not always his intention to lead the city’s fire safety.
“My father always encouraged us to pursue an education,” said Cummings. “He never encouraged me to be a firefighter. I wanted to be an electronic engineer. That was my goal.”
Since Dec. 13, 1997, the mission of the African American Firefighter Museum (AAFFM) has been to collect, conserve and share the heritage of pioneering African Americans in the fire service.
Legendary firefighter known as “the Rookie,” Arnett Hartsfield, will be honored Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. in acknowledgement of his retirement as a volunteer with the African American Firefighter Museum.
The 94-year-old Hartsfield is one of the early victims of racial discrimination within the city’s fire department, and has spent the last 15 years volunteering at the firefighter museum.
It seems unthinkable now, but Brian Cummings, the new Los Angeles Fire Chief, once had another career in mind.
“My father always encouraged us to pursue an education,” said Cummings. “He never encouraged me to be a firefighter. I wanted to be an electronic engineer. That was my goal.”
JEFFERSON PARK - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will announce today his nominee for a new chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The announcement is scheduled for 9 A.M. in the Jefferson Park area of Los Angeles at Fire Station No. 34.
