Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Thursday that Rodney Marshall, a Grove Hall native and 35-year veteran of the Boston Fire Department, will be the department’s new commissioner. Marshall will be the first Black man to lead the agency in its nearly 350-year-long history.
The mayor described Marshall as “exceptionally qualified” to head the department that bills itself as the oldest in the country.
“As a lifelong Bostonian, he knows our communities, has demonstrated his leadership on the job, and has devoted his career to serving and protecting our residents,” Wu said in a statement. “It’s my honor to appoint him as our next Fire Commissioner.”
Over the course of his career, Marshall has earned two of the department’s Commissioner’s Unit Citations for saving lives on the job — one in 1998 during a six-alarm fire, another in 2013 for rescuing several people from a bus with severe roof damage.
Marshall, who is nicknamed “The Iceman” for his calm demeanor under pressure, also recently helped to design the department’s recruitment Cadet Program. At the announcement of his appointment at the Berkshire Partners Blue Hill Boys & Girls Club in Dorchester, he thanked the mayor for the appointment and recalled taking the civil service exam years ago with the intent of becoming a Boston police officer.
“I thought my pathway to the FBI would be the Boston Police Department,” Marshall said, noting that he took the dual police and fire tests with friends for $10 after a night of partying. He rejected two offers from the Boston Fire Department before running into a friend who became a firefighter.
“And when he told me that they didn’t have to wear a suit or tie, I was all in,” Marshall said.
The next commissioner said he plans to mandate open doors at fire stations across the city as a gesture of openness, good and recruitment.
“I want city kids — kids from every neighborhood — to be able to walk in, see the trucks, talk to the firefighters and experience the wonder and excitement of seeing this job up close,” he said. “And I hope someday one of those same kids that will visit a house in either Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, East Boston, Brighton, one of the same kids will be up on this stage one day replacing me as fire commissioner.”
Marshall also vowed to maintain a “no-nonsense” policy regarding harassment and equality within the fire department.
The ceremony was filled with current and retired firefighters like Roy Marshall, who was excited for the opportunity to take a photo with Boston’s first Black fire commissioner.
“It means that there’s change in the city and we’re growing,” said Marshall, who recently retired from the force and is not related to the new commissioner.
“He’s always been fair, understanding and compassionate to all the firefighters,” Marshall said when asked what he remembers about working soon-to-be Commissioner Marshall. “No matter what the situation was, he always had empathy for every firefighter and the person that we’re actually supporting or helping.”
Rodney Marshall first joined the department in 1991 and rose through the ranks holding the titles Fire Lieutenant, Fire Captain, District Fire Chief and Deputy Fire Chief. He has served as Chief of Operations since 2022.
He follows Commissioner Paul Burke after mandatory retirement rules required Burke to leave the role. Burke will step down at the end of the month.
“I could not be more confident in the leadership of Chief Rodney Marshall,” Burke said. “Chief Marshall brings 35 years of experience to this role along with a deep understanding of this department and the city we serve.”
