Nice catch, leightonwalter. That’s one of the many advantages of a cigar over a cigarette: it goes out when you put it down. Say you’ve just lit a cigar, as the chief here has done, but something comes up, and you’ve got to put it down for a while. The cigar will conveniently go out and wait for you till you come back.

And the chief clearly did.

Although Washington DC had Black firefighters as far back as 1868, Engine Company No. 4 was organized in 1919 after a petition from all minority members of the force (three of them), who found career advancement lacking. Gordon Parks took this photo three years after the unit moved from Southwest Washington to 931 R Street NW, where its coverage included the U Street “Black Broadway”. Burton Westbrook Johnson, DC’s first Black Fire Chief (1973), came up through the ranks from Engine Company No. 4. (It was Johnson who appointed the first female firefighter, in 1978.)

Like other companies, No. 4 had a nickname: “The Hornet’s Nest”, which is emblazoned on the firehouse (moved a mile north) today. There are various theories about the nickname's origin.

Here's an explanation of that paper tape alarm reporting and recording tape that's seen at the bottom of the picture.