Life of a Legendary Firefighter Saluted
By Frank Gist
Pictured from left-to-right: Paul Batchelor (L.F.F.), Lt. George Lewis (F.F.), Donald Porter (F.F.) and Emitt Vencent (F.F.)
A true community hero, Fire Fight er, Paul Batchelor, answered his last alarm last week. In my lifetime, I have met very few men of the character and courage of Paul L. Batchelor. I can honestly say I’m a better person because he mentored me as a young fireman trying to navigate and accli mate the racist culture of the fire service as he did for countless others. I am genuinely proud to have known such a man of character, integrity and conviction in mt lifetime. He will be missed, but his legacy will burn on forever in the hearts of every African American firefighter who ever donned a mask.
F.F. Paul Batchelor joined the Buffalo Fire Department in 1973 at the age of 29 at a time when 99% of the 900-member department were White males. Paul, like all other Black pioneers, endured the slings and arrows of outrages racism on a daily basis. In 1980, Bachelor along with F.F Donald Porter, F.F Emitt Vincent and Lt. George Lewis and others decided to push back against the racist culture of the B.F.D and form their own organization they titled: Men of Color Helping All Society (M.O.C.H.A). Later, it was changed to Members of Color Helping All. It was then decided to affiliate with the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters International Association, which was founded in 1970, originating with the Vulcan Society of the FDNY.
In 1979, F.F Donald Porter volunteered to drive to Bridgeport, CT to attend a regional conference of the I.A.B.P.F.F. and applied for membership in the Northeast region. After getting credentialed into the I.A.B.P.F.F the M.O.C.H.A chapter rose to prominence in the northeast region and Buffalo was selected as the sight of the 1986 national convention of the I.A.B.P.F.F., which was attended by hundreds of Black firefighters and their families from across the nation.
In 2002, the M.O.C.H.A. chapter again was chosen to host the national convention for the second time—I was M.O.C.H.A President during that peri od. Again, hundreds gathered from across the world to attend. Today, the I.A.B.P.F.F. has 8,000 members 180 chapters across the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean.
Paul Batchalor leadership was a key factor in bringing national atten tion to M.O.C.H.A Society of Buffalo. Paul retired from the B.F.D in 1998 but remained a strong advocate for M.O.C.H.A until the day he died. At his funeral firefighters from across the region gathered for a final solute to a man everyone respected as a true pioneer and legend of the Buffalo Fire Department.