GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Among the 13 Grand Rapids firefighters with new titles and new responsibilities is the city’s first African American battalion chief.
Eric Freeman, a 27 year veteran of the Grand Rapids Fire Department has become the highest ranking black firefighter in the department’s history.
Freeman grew up in Grand Rapids. He was 19, just out of high school, when he joined the “family business.”
Freeman’s father, Norman Hobson, retired from the department in 2007.
“He provided an example for me to be able to follow. And that’s what it’s really all about, is following the examples of others. Having the support of people,” Freeman said.
Freeman rose through the ranks, not only fighting fires, but as a member of the department’s hazardous materials, technical rescue, confined space rescue and extrication teams.
While you may think his promotion as the city’s first African American battalion chief was too long in coming, Freeman says the department is making headway.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily a problem with the city. I think it’s growth.
“Sometimes growth takes time. In Grand Rapids, maybe it’s taken a little longer than it has in other places, but that’s where we’re at now. We’re here,” said Freeman.
Along with honing his technical skills, Freeman has also served as a recruiter for the department, working to expose young people to a job they may never have considered.
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