VIDEO: Jeff Hairston was sworn in as Gresham’s newest fire chief Tuesday evening, becoming the city’s first Black fire chief. “It’s kind of a surreal moment, coming through the fire service not knowing where I was going to end up,” Hairston said.
“I didn’t really have aspirations to be in this spot, but you navigate through because you want to see change.” When Hairston was hired by the city in 2006, he became Gresham’s first Black firefighter.
“It’s a privilege. It’s an honor,” Hairston said. “You don’t want to wait until 2006 for it to happen, but I take it very seriously.”
Before the ceremony, Hairston walked through his office and reflected on other historic firsts in his family. He pointed to a photo of his grandfather, Sam Hairston, the first Black player on the Chicago White Sox, and another of his father, John Hairston, the first Black catcher on the Chicago Cubs.
Hairston himself played professional baseball for the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates in the early 1990s, before becoming a physical education teacher at Gresham High School and later a firefighter.
