Rodney Marshall was appointed as the new Boston Fire Commissioner on Thursday. In this 2025 file photo, he speaks to the media about a Dorchester porch collapse. Courtesy of Boston Fire
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 also recently helped to design the department’s recruitment Cadet Program. He thanked the mayor for the appointment.
“As a proud son of Dorchester, I joined the Boston Fire Department because I wanted to give back to the communities where I grew up, and I’m committed to supporting the firefighters and staff who work every day to keep Boston’s neighborhoods safe,” he said in a statement.
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 step down.
SOURCE: WGBH, April 16, 2026. By Saraya Wintersmith