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Denver Fire Station 3 is the oldest Denver firehouse inactive successful work and it has a storied past
It's known to those who served determination arsenic the "Pride of the Points."
Denver Fire Station 3. The oldest Denver firehouse inactive successful service, built successful 1931.
And the lone presumption wherever Black firefighters were assigned until the Denver Fire Department desegregated successful 1957.
Today the children of these earliest nationalist servants person a heavy appreciation for Station 3's committedness to excellence, and the pridefulness that came successful serving Denver's Five Points community.
Beatrice Griffin is the girl of Firefighter Sidney Frelow, who served successful the precocious 1930s.
Firefighter Charles Cousins successful the 1940s.
Cousins Family
"This was a precise prestigious occupation for a antheral to person and helium took large pridefulness successful it, it became much than conscionable a job, it was a vocation and a lifestyle," said Griffin.
Firefighter Charles Cousins' girl is retired pediatrician Dr. Renee Cousins King. She said, "He utilized to accidental everybody loves a firefighter. And that's a bully feeling to person erstwhile you're retired successful the community."
Captain Nathan Biffle astatine near with the firefighters of Station 3.
Denver Firefighter's Museum
The standards acceptable present astatine Station 3, portion the "Pride of the Points", their interaction extended crossed Denver.
"Captain Nathan Biffle was the commandant present and helium was reputed to beryllium 1 of the champion captains successful the city," said Cousins King.
"No nonsense, an fantabulous teacher, helium had fantabulous bid presence."
Serving the assemblage meant clearing radical hurdles. And sometimes entailed paying the highest terms successful the enactment of duty.
"As a effect of the aggressiveness of the African American firefighters, respective of them were killed successful the St. James occurrence successful 1895," said retired Denver Fire Chief Rod Juniel. "There person been contributions from the Black assemblage successful the occurrence work for galore many years, implicit a 100 years."
Juniel had to spell to tribunal to beryllium admitted the Denver Fire Department successful the 1970s.
Civil servants tried to artifact his way - adjacent though he'd passed the trial to join. Juniel roseate done the ranks to go Denver's archetypal Black occurrence chief.
Juniel said, "Our past is decorated with a batch of heroic efforts, but I deliberation there's immoderate areas that we request to proceed to code and marque definite that we're capable to service this assemblage successful an equitable way."
A roster of Station 3 firefighters from 1929.
Denver Firefighter's Museum
Anna Alejo is CBS News Colorado's Executive Producer of Community Impact. She works with the quality squad to make much grassroots relationships crossed communities and much archetypal contented astatine the vicinity level, ensuring divers voices are represented successful programming.
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