In partnership with the New York City Fire Museum, our "First" series spotlights the FDNY’s trailblazers. During #AAPIHeritageMonth, we are highlighting the first Asian-American firefighter to join the FDNY. On December 16, 1942, Firefighter Joji Furuya was sworn into the FDNY. Furuya was a WWII veteran and Purple Heart recipient. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1950 and served the Department for 40 years. | New York City Fire Department (FDNY)

“Around 1965 a fire occurred in Harlem, in a multi-story tenement on 114th Street and 8th Avenue. FDNY Firefighters arrived and they were unaware that a group of children were on the second floor of the building. As smoke filled the staircase of the building the group children knew to exit up the staircase to the roof. However, one of the children a six-year-old African American male was stopped in the staircase by a Firefighter, the Firefighter grabbed the little boy and placed him under his ar