The Hartford Courant
HARTFORD, Conn. — City officials ordered flags flown at half staff to honor former fire Chief John B. Stewart Jr., a 40-year veteran of the Hartford fire department, who died Sunday morning.
Stewart was the first African American fire chief in New England when he took over the department in 1980. He remained chief for 12 years before getting into politics, and eventually became majority leader of the city council.
Stewart recently was appointed by Mayor Pedro Segarra to lead a task force reviewing fire department procedures after the death of Kevin Bell while fighting a fire in October 2014.
In a statement issued Sunday night, Segarra said Stewart overcame racial barriers to join the department in 1952.
“He [Stewart] remained close and involved in our community after his retirement. In his own words, he was ‘proof that Hartford represents the American Dream,’ ” Segarra said. “My heart goes out to his family, his loved ones, and all those whose lives he touched.”
Segarra ordered the flags left at half staff until next Sunday.
Stewart was the fire chief from 1980 to 1992. When reflecting on his career during those years Stewart told The Courant, “When I started in the fire department, they told me I was lucky to get on the job and I’d never become an officer. I am proof that Hartford, Conn., represents the American dream.”
After his retirement Stewart worked to bring economic development to the city’s North End before joining the city council.
“You have to look hard to find a drugstore. You look at empty lots — there used to be buildings there,” Stewart said of the North End. “I believe that there’s a place in this community for the former fire chief to become more active.”
One of Stewart’s pet projects was trying to build a cultural center in the long-abandoned Northwest School. He fought for years to help raise money to build the John E. Rogers African American Cultural Center. The plan languished for years because of a lack of money but has gotten several grants from federal and state sources to aid in building it.
Stewart remained active in helping the city right up until this year.
The panel looking into Bell’s death, made up of four retired city fire chiefs and the current city police chief, listed five recommendations in its final report to Segarra. The panel recommended that the department be allowed to hire two retired interim deputy fire chiefs to provide adequate command staff for beleaguered fire Chief Carlos Huertas until permanent assistant chiefs can be hired.
Copyright 2015 The Hartford Courant
All Rights Reserved