IN 1972, TWO BLACK FIREFIGHTERS WERE SITTING ON THE BACK OF A FIRE ENGINE, during a break, at a Mutual Aid Drill in Los Altos. The drill encompassed the Stanford, Palo Alto and Los Altos Fire Departments.

These firefighters were the first Blacks to be hired by their respective departments. Russell Hayden, of the Los Altos Fire Department was the only Black in his department (for his entire five years with the department) and Kenneth Moore, of the Stanford Fire Department, was one of two in his department.

These Black Firefighters expressed concern and asked each other why and what could be done about the lack of Blacks in the fire service.

After several meetings, Kenneth asked Russell, “Why don’t we get all the Brothers in the county together and start some sort of group to address our concerns and issues?”

A meeting was called in January 1973 at the Trotters Inn in the City of Los Altos.

Present at the first meeting of the Santa Clara County Black Firefighters Association (SCCBFA) were Kenneth Moore, Stanford Fire Department, now a part of the Palo Alto Fire Department; Dudley Bynoe, San Jose Fire Department; Angelo Chancellor, Central Fire Department, now a part of the Santa Clara County Fire Department; Jerry Williams, San Jose Fire Department; Dennis Wright, Palo Alto Fire Department; and Russell Hayden, Los Altos Fire Department, now a part of the Santa Clara County Fire Department. Also included in the original membership, but not present at the first meeting were: Booker Law, San Jose Fire Department, Cleve Canard, Stanford Fire Department, now part of Palo Alto Fire Department, Ivy Chretien, Mountain View Fire Department, Booker Moore, Santa Clara Fire Department, and Jerome Riggins, San Jose Fire Department.

The initial goals of the SCCBFA that still holds true today are to:

Increase the number of Blacks, women and other people of color in the fire service

• Promote upward mobility
• Provide a sounding board for those with like causes and problems of being in a predominantly all-white, male profession
• Educate the community about the fire service
• Foster a better working relationship within the fire service and the community
• Increase the total number of new hires into the fire service to reflect the makeup of our community Thirty-six years later no members remain from the original membership in the fire service. Two original member have passed, Booker Law and Kenneth C. Moore.

Russell Hayden – The co-founders is retired from San Jose Fire Department and is still very active in the goal of diversity within the fire service as the CEO of a company he founded called “Firefighter’s ABC’s. As an outgrowth of Firefighter’s ABC’s he also founded the “Firefighter Diversity