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Rodney Marshall appointed new fire commissioner, becomes first Black leader in department history
Marshall is a Dorchester native who has earned recognition for saving lives during his 35-year career with the Boston Fire Department.
Mayor Michelle Wu appointed Rodney Marshall as the city’s new fire commissioner Thursday. Marshall is set to become the first Black person to lead the 348-year-old department.
Marshall has been with the Boston Fire Department since 1991. He currently serves as the chief of operations for support services, and will take over as the department’s 45th commissioner when Commissioner Paul Burke retires at the end of the month.
Marshall, who was born and raised in Dorchester, attended Boston College and earned a degree in accounting. He spoke during a press conference about not knowing what he wanted to do with his life after graduating. Marshall thought that he might pursue a career in law enforcement, and took the civil service exam for firefighters mostly as a way to hedge his bets, he said.
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He recalled receiving two offers from the department and turning them both down.
“That would be like throwing a million dollar ticket out the window,” he said.
After running into a friend who had accepted a job with the department, Marshall remembered being struck by what he was allowed to wear as a firefighter.
“When he told me that they didn’t have to wear a suit and tie, I was all in,” he said with a laugh.
As Marshall rose through the ranks, he served across the city in neighborhoods like East Boston, Brighton, and South Boston. Marshall spoke about the importance of teamwork, and said that he was thinking about two Boston firefighters in particular that died in a 2014 Back Bay fire.
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“It takes a team to assemble a 50-foot ladder and stand it up. It takes a team to stretch a two-and-a-half hose line down a hallway. And it’s the strength of that team that makes the difference between life and death on this job,” he said.
Marshall was recognized by department leadership in 1998 for saving the lives of multiple residents during a six-alarm fire, and again in 2013 for helping rescue several people trapped in a bus with roof damage, according to Wu’s office.
He designed and oversaw the creation of the department’s cadet program, which recruits new firefighters.
Wu spoke about the importance of trust and expressed her confidence in Marshall.
“The success of the Boston Fire Department, the reason we are the safest major city in the country, is built on trust: trust between our public safety agencies, trust between firefighters responding to a call, trust between leaders and their teams, and most importantly, trust with our residents.” she said. “Rodney has earned a reputation as someone who earns trust. And that’s the kind of leadership this department, the oldest and the best, deserves.”
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Burke was appointed commissioner by Wu in 2022, and has now reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 for Massachusetts firefighters.
“I could not be more confident in the leadership of Chief Rodney Marshall,” Burke said. “I have seen firsthand his steady leadership, sound judgement, and commitment to our mission.”
Marshall said that he wants to emphasize the importance of connecting with the community and young people during his time leading the department. He spoke about seeing the fire station in Grove Hall with its doors closed as a child, and his desire to now make sure every Boston fire station keeps its doors open during the summer months. Marshall wants children to be able to come in and speak with the firefighters and to see their equipment up close. Some day, Marshall said, he hopes that one of those children will replace him as commissioner.
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