Beverly Thedford-McGinnis

Beverly Thedford-McGinnis (born April 4, 1958) is the director of the Living Waters Adult Daycare Center and Living Waters Home Care Services in Helena and former chief of Battalion 4 for the Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service, commanding 7 stations in east Birmingham.

Thedford-McGinnis graduated from West End High School and trained as a nurse and spent five years in the U.S. Army before being hired as the first black woman in the department in 1989. She didn't pass her first physical, but came back 8 weeks later and passed. Her first assignment was to Station 16 in Ensley.

She moved through the ranks, being the first black woman to achieve lieutenant, apparatus operator, captain, and in 2007, became the first female battalion chief. She also continued to practice as a registered nurse, working a few days a week at Children's Hospital.

References

• Robinson, Carol (July 20, 2008) "Fire battalion chief blazes Birmingham trail." The Birmingham News