after the 1954 supreme court decision in "brown vs. board of education" and other cases, alderson asked the los angeles city attorney whether the decision affected his department, and was told that it did. based on this, the chief assigned black firefighters from the segregated fire stations to all-white fire houses, beginning what was to become a year of crisis for the lafd. newspaper writers penned articles both pro and con integration and while firefighters came together while fighting fires, the rest of the time spent in the firehouse was for the most part their own.