Photo by Janet Barnett/Gazette Packet
Retired firefighter Gerald Wanzer, second from right, stands by an earlier photo of himself with Lt. Randolph Woodson, Fire Chief Corey Smedley and Lt. Sandra Mason at an honorary promotion ceremony Feb. 13 at Fire Station 209. A graduate of Parker-Gray High School and a military veteran, Wanzer was the second African American firefighter hired in Alexandria and became the first president of the Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax Chapter of the Black Firefighters International Association – now known as the Black Fire Service Professionals of Alexandria.