Eugene Blackmon Jr. was a Chicago firefighter and scuba diver, who died in the course of duty, on May 19, 1998.
[1][2][3][4] On July 31, 2017, the Chicago Fire Department named a new fireboat the Eugene Blackmon, in his honor.
[1] He attended Harlan High School, Chicago State University, and qualified to work as a lifeguard and a scuba instructor.
When he was retrieved he had been submerged for ten minutes, after being airlifted to a nearby hospital he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The Chicago Fire Department created an annual award in Blackmon's name, given to firefighter candidates who were perceived to have shown leadership.