CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The City of Charlotte’s first Black firefighter passed away this month at the age of 77 after a battle with cancer, according to the Charlotte Fire Department.
Before joining the Charlotte Fire department, Hazel Eugene Erwin was a firefighter with the United States Airforce. He fought fires at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro and later at Cam Ranh Bay in South Vietnam, where he served for a year.
He received an honorable discharge on Christmas Day in 1966, the Charlotte Fire Dept. said.
Erwin was hired by the Charlotte Fire Department on October 18, 1967, and assigned to Fire Station 1. Erwin was the man responsible for integrating the Charlotte Fire Department in the 1960s, and he made history for being the first Black firefighter in Charlotte.
“We’re not going to put this man out in the boondocks. He will be stationed on an engine company at Fire Station 1 and will have an equal chance in this department,” said Charlotte Fire Chief Jim Black in 1967.
Erwin resigned from Charlotte Fire on March 20, 1974.
He was a man of integrity, a hard worker, and known for spending time with family and friends, the fire department said. Erwin’s family members said that he never wanted special recognition for breaking the color barrier.
“He just wanted to do what’s right,” they said.
“He may be gone but never forgotten. He will forever be our Black history with the Charlotte Fire Department,” the fire department said.