Longtime fire chief William McCrossen died Sunday at his home in New Orleans East at the age of 90.
The former fire superintendent spent 51 years in the department ascending from the rank of firefighter to chief, but even after his retirement in 1993, he remained active in the department and the community. He served as historian for the New Orleans Fire Museum.
"There's still a lot of people that thought he was [still] superintendent of the fire department," said firefighter Michael Williams. "I've had people ask me, 'How's Chief McCrossen doing?' I'd say, 'He's retired.' That's the kind of presence he had."
Among his accomplishments, friends say McCrossen was most proud of pushing through legislation requiring high-rise buildings to be equipped with sprinklers
