‘This Place Saved My Life’: Chicago Firefighter Shares His Story Of How Others Helped Him Achieve His Dreams

As we celebrate Black History Month, this is the story of a little boy living in poverty who had a dream to become a Chicago firefighter.

As CBS 2’s Jim Williams reported Thursday, that dream came true, thanks his hard work and the extraordinary kindness of men and women, Black and white, at one firehouse on the West Side. Even 40 years later, the memories are still fresh and overwhelming.

“This place saved my life,” said Antwan Dobson. He spoke at the firehouse on California Avenue at Fillmore Street, Engine 107. As a child, he found a second home there.

“Jim, when I tell you they were there, they were really there – way beyond the scope of service that’s expected of them,” Dobson told CBS 2’s Williams.

Today, he is Fire Lt. Antwan Dobson, himself an 17-year veteran of the Chicago Fire Department. It is his life’s work.

“Better than winning the lottery – and I mean that literally,” Dobson said. “I’m actually living a childhood dream.”

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