When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis in 1968, the world focused on the Lorraine Motel but few ever looked across the street. Inside Fire Station No. 2, just steps away, Black officer Edward E. Redditt was assigned to protect King’s room. Then, at 4 p.m. hours before the shot was fired he was suddenly told to go home. The order came from Frank Holloman, the city’s director of police and fire…and a former 25 year FBI veteran. Another Black officer, Willie B. Richmond, stayed

The Memphis Fire Department is proud to welcome 49 new firefighters to its ranks after a twenty-two-week fire academy. This video shows you what kind of training the recruits received and how hard they worked to make it through.—Congratulation Class 118! (PART TWO) | Memphis Fire Department