Milford Fonza, Fire Station 4, and the Long Fight to Integrate the Des Moines Fire Department

When Des Moines opened the new Fire Station 4 on Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway on May 22, the celebration did more than dedicate a new public-safety facility. It created an opportunity to tell a difficult and important part of our city's civil-rights history.

The grand opening honored Milford Fonza, whose fight for opportunity helped change the Des Moines Fire Department. Fonza was appointed on August 7, 1967, becoming the first African American firefighter in Des Moines since 1919 and the first Black firefighter of the department's modern era.

Breaking a barrier did not end discrimination

Fonza's path into the department followed a discrimination complaint and advocacy supported by the Des Moines NAACP and local human-rights leadership. Getting the job, however, did not mean discrimination had ended.

He endured severe racial harassment during his early service. After transferring to the University Avenue station, Fonza found a very different environment, working as part of an interracial team built around trust and public service. But when he was later told that race would prevent him from advancing, he left Des Moines and continued his fire-service career in California, eventually rising to senior leadership and serving as Fire Chief in Compton.

The fight for integration continued

Fonza's story was an early chapter in a longer struggle. In 1982, the NAACP filed a federal class-action civil-rights lawsuit challenging discriminatory practices within the Des Moines Fire Department. A federal consent decree entered in December 1983 established recruitment and hiring reforms. During the decade of federal monitoring that followed, 35 Black firefighters were hired.

That history matters because institutions do not become more inclusive simply because time passes. People challenge barriers. Evidence is gathered. Lawsuits are filed. Policies change. New leaders enter institutions. And progress is sustained because communities continue paying attention.

Preserving the story

In preparation for the Fire Station 4 opening, the Des Moines Branch worked with fire-department leadership to help preserve this history. The branch prepared historical material documenting Milford Fonza's story, the NAACP litigation, the federal consent decree and the Black firefighters whose courage and service helped transform the department.

Fonza returned to Des Moines for the opening and was recognized during the ceremony, connecting today's Fire Station 4 with a civil-rights story that spans nearly six decades.

Progress deserves to be celebrated. It is even more meaningful when we remember what made that progress necessary and the people who were willing to push institutions toward change.