A new space inside Roanoke Fire Station 5 now bears the name of a local trailblazer.

After 30 years of presiding over crowds at Staunton Avenue Church of God, he is finally calling an end to an illustrious career as a trailblazing firefighter and pastor that always served his community.

Quarles was one of the first two Black firefighters hired by the department in 1963. “That’s what I wanted to do, but I said, ‘I never saw any minority firefighters,’” Quarles said. Quarles eventually rose through the ranks and became Roanoke’s first Black fire chief in 1989. “I was the first Black lieutenant, the first Black deputy chief, the first Black chief fire marshal,” Quarles remembered. He remains Roanoke’s only Black fire chief.