Black History Month spotlight – Battalion Chief Colby Means

February 6, 2023

“I had no idea that history was being made.  I was just tired of giving up.” —Rosa Parks

City of Greer Battalion Chief Colby Means is a second-generation firefighter, following his dad step-by-step. It’s a family affair for the Means, and Colby “never thought about anything else” when it came time to pick a career path.

His parents were born a month apart but in different parts of Spartanburg County. When they attended high school in the 1960s, his mom went a segregated school while his dad didn’t. He draws on their experiences to form his worldview, noting that everyone’s experiences are different – even if they’re in the same county.

“If [segregated schools] are hard for us to imagine, I hope that it’s going to be really hard for my children to imagine,” Colby said. His two young sons, ages four and six, are biracial, and Colby notes that their experiences will be different than his, just like his are different than the experiences of his parents.

Colby is the first Black Battalion Chief at Greer. His dad was the first Black firefighter hired at his department and every promotion, all the way up to chief, was a first. Like it often does, history repeated itself. Colby credits his dad, his mentors, and the pioneers that came before him that have made the position of Battalion Chief possible for a Black man.

“You’ve got to be willing and able to accept anybody in this profession and truly say and live by, ‘If someone can do this job, it doesn’t matter what they do in their personal life or their background,’” he said.

“If you have the mindset to do this job and you’re committed to it, the opportunities are endless.”