ATLANTA — This weekend the city of Atlanta will celebrate the life of a pioneer.
Channel 2’s Lori Wilson spoke with the son of retired Fire Chief William Hamer, the first Black fire chief in Atlanta. The city announced his death on Wednesday.
“As a firefighter, it was exciting. Because, you know, as a kid, when we heard sirens, fire trucks outside, it was exciting,” Jeffrey Hamer said.
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Growing up, Jeffrey Hamer knew his dad was a firefighter, and that was special.
“He had a lot of meetings, was always on the phone. People would always call the house. People were over the house,” Jeffrey Hammer said.
What Jeffrey Hamer didn’t know was that as one of the first Black firefighters in the city of Atlanta, William Hamer helped integrate the department in 1963, and he was also on the path to become the first Black fire chief for the city.
Mayor Andrew Young appointed William Hamer fire chief 40 years ago, on June 17, 1985, according to the city’s fire rescue social media page. He served as chief for three years, retiring in 1988.
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“I knew he was very important because they always came to him before they would do anything, and they always looked at him like a leader,” Jeffrey Hamer said.
While working at Fire Station 16, Hamer navigated not only racism from people he went to help but also from his peers in the department.
“They were separated. ... That it was stressful to go out and go in all the time ... well, the job itself was stressful because you deal with lives,” Jeffrey Hamer said.
He says his dad didn’t talk politics or civil rights, but he came to understand the pressure under which his dad worked.
“He kept us sheltered, which I’m glad he did that. ... We talked about fellowship, community, but he never discussed anything about the fires,” Jeffrey Hamer said.
“He always had a good face about it, was always positive,” he added. “He enjoyed it. Clearly, he enjoyed being a firefighter, a fireman.”
Services for William Hamer will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Hoosier United Methodist Church in Atlanta.
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