SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) – Loved ones and colleagues are celebrating the life of Alwin “Ben” Holman, a trailblazer in desegregating the San Diego Fire Department.
He broke barriers by serving beyond the historically black communities of Southeast San Diego.
Following his passing last month, FOX 5/KUSI joined others in honoring Holman’s life and reflecting on the legacy he leaves behind.
“We are here to honor retired Deputy Fire Chief Ben Holman. A man who lived 100 incredible years,” said Robert Logan, Fire Chief of the San Diego Fire Department.
It was a powerful farewell for a man who made history and changed lives. The walls of Faith Presbyterian Church in El Cerrito echoed with remembrance Saturday.
The mayor, firefighters, friends, and family gathered to celebrate the life of Holman.
“He was our Jackie Robinson,” said Jonathan Harris, a fire captain with the San Diego Fire Department.
In 1951, Holman became a San Diego firefighter seeking stability and opportunity, not history, but he stepped up when asked.
“It changed who can walk through those doors. It changed who could be here. It changed who could lead,” said Logan.
Holman joined Fire Station 14 in North Park as the first Black firefighter assigned there working alongside white colleagues, which wasn’t easy.
“The racism he put up with was unbelievably terrible,” said another speaker at Saturday’s service.
Holman rose through the ranks in a department where few looked like him, earning respect through leadership and determination.
Now, those who knew him remember a mentor and his mission to lift others up.
“This industry is hard to break into, sometimes it takes many years for you to get hired, but he was one of those ones who would come out and help,” said Harris.
At home, he led with humor and embraced teaching as a lifelong calling.
“Everything from knowing how to change a tire, to how to balance a checking account, to how to not start a fire in the house,” said Kyra Randall, Holman’s daughter.
Randall remembers riding along to calls with her father, who used every moment to pass along wisdom.
“I said, ‘Oh, wow, you know everything. You know a lot.’ He said no, ‘I just have good people around me and that was one of the things he would tell us to always have good people around you,'” said Randall.
He reached the rank of deputy chief before retiring in 1983, paving the way for those after him.
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