While working at Station 18 in North Miami, Robinson developed a reputation for loving service "from the bottom of his heart." That included everything from "cooking, cleaning, rescuing people, providing first aid, putting out building fires," said former Miami-Dade Fire Department Chief Levi Thomas. "He liked everything."

Robinson was born Feb. 4, 1940 in Blakely, Ga. After his mother's death when he was 8, he was left to the care of an aunt. During his teens, he moved from Orlando to Newark, N.J., to Miami, staying with different family members.

After graduating from high school, Robinson served in the U.S. Army for four years.

"He was tough and never ever complained," Tynes said. "For years, he dealt with pain in silence."

After training to be a firefighter, he went to work as a supply clerk for the fire department, and became certified to drive firetrucks.

"He worked hard," said Thomas, who was his former boss. "We all trusted him." Robinson was also known for his love of reading and writing poetry.

In 1993, Robinson decided to compile his poetry. He self-published the 28-page book he titled Stimuli: From the Mind of An Original Minority.

He enjoyed reading black history, treasuring the works of Maya Angelou, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

"When he wasn't extinguishing a fire, calculating water pressure or helping to save a life, he was a caring intellectual with his pen," Thomas said.

In addition to his stepdaughter Karen, Robinson is survived by sons James Robinson Jr., Mark Robinson and Michael Robinson; daughter Michelle Robinson; step-sons Charles Tynes and Kelvin Tynes; step-daughters Marsha Shellman, Tammy Ferguson, Joy Tynes and Tracey Tynes; and longtime girlfriend Blanche A. Tynes.

Written by The Miami Herald