California Fires Claim the Life of a Firefighter

[distchief60b]

I was just watching the news about the fire here on the west coast of Florida and Fox News gave a BREAKING NEWS REPORT: One of the fires in San Diego County has claimed the life of a firefighter and injured 2 others when they were overrun by the fire. According to Fox News this was confirmed by the California Division of Forestry.

[distchief60b]

Associated Press Link to Story

______________
Associate Press

Firefighter Killed, 2 Injured in Calif.

SAN DIEGO - One firefighter was killed and two were injured battling the largest blaze in San Diego County on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry said.

It marks the first firefighter death in the outbreak of wildfires in Southern California. Department of Forestry spokeswoman Cathy Fritz said she had no additional details on the firefighter's death.

Matt Mathes, regional spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said the firefighters were injured in Julian, a historic mining town known for its apple crop. He said the two injured firefighters suffered critical injuries. Hundreds of firefighters have converged on the mountain retreat of Julian in the past 24 hours to make a stand against the Cedar Fire, a 233,192-acre blaze that has destroyed hundreds of homes since it started Saturday. Firefighters in Julian were told that their injured colleagues were flown out of the area by helicopter.

[patdunn79]

God bless those that are facing peril and accept those that have left this world for home.

[Firefighter631]

Pray for strength for the families of the dead and injured. May the dead rest in peace and the injured make a speedy and complete recovery.

[PFire23]

I sit here with tears in my eyes and an ache in my heart for our lost brother. I pray for him to rest in peace, for his family that they may find comfort in this awful time and for his Fire Department family that they may too find comfort, that they may continue on in their fight to contain this blaze, even though they have heavy hearts at this time and that they may win that fight without any further losses of life. Please God, keep our Cali brothers and sisters (and all those there helping them) safe, bring them all home to their families.


May the injured have a quick recovery, and know that we are all pulling for them.

[ullrichk]

Callous MU++ !!!

AP Headline:

First Firefighter Dies in Calif. Blazes
By ANDREW BRIDGES, Associated Press Writer



Like it was expected! Like it's an acceptable loss!

Maybe he didn't mean it that way, but things are tough enough already.

May our fallen brother rest in peace and our injured enjoy a speedy recovery.

I have nothing but respect for everyone on the line in California.

[MalahatTwo7]

It is with a heavy heart that I read this thread. God speed to full recovery for those who are injured. May God keep you from further harm.

He has taken one of our Brothers, and will keep him safe. May he keep the others safe too.

[firefiftyfive]

My prayers go out to the family of the firefighter and to the injured firefighters as well. Hopefully our brothers and sisters on the west coast can get these wild fires under control very soon and end the death and destruction going on right now....God Speed!!!

[CharlieRFDPres]

god bless and keep you

Agree the tone of a couple of articles is poor, including the one here on firehouse, 1st Ff lost, like its enevitable...... Yes its the worlds most dangerous job, but ITS NOT ENEVITABLE AND DEFINATELY NOT ACCEPTABLE. But for right now more importantly......

Dear God Please open your gates and arms to our fallen brother (or sister), and grant your peace to his or her loved ones, please watch over our injured brother (or sister) and speed his/her recovery, and watch over and protect all of our brothers and sisters fighting the California fires, Amen.....

[NJFFSA16]

LODD

---------------------------------------------
Steve Rucker, a 38-year-old fire engineer from the Novato Fire
Protection District near San Francisco, died while battling the
Cedar Fire, which has burned more than 250,000 acres and 1,400
homes. It was the first firefighter death since the series of
blazes began last week.
------------------------------------------------

I offer my condolences to the Rucker family, and the Novato firefighting community. May our dear brother rest in peace!

[RspctFrmCalgary]

It is with a heavy heart that I offer my deepest sympathies to the Rucker family and to Steve's firefighting family of the Novato Fire Protection District. May God comfort you in your time of sorrow.

I pray for a quick and full recovery for the firefighters injured in the incident that so suddenly took Steve's life.

To the 13,000 firefighters in southern California, you are all doing an awesome job braving the fires with such strength and determination! Our thoughts are with you on this difficult day.

Rest in peace, Steve. Sleep with angels

[NJFFSA16]

NOVATO, Calif. (AP) - The firefighter killed when a fast-moving
wildfire overtook his four-man crew as they tried to save a home
was remembered at his home firehouse Thursday as a hard worker
dedicated to the job.
"He wasn't sent there. He asked to go," Deputy Novato Fire
Chief Dan Northern said, fighting back tears as he stood beside a
shrine of flowers, photos and the gear Steve Rucker had left
behind.
Rucker, 38, was the first firefighter killed battling the blazes
that have ravaged Southern California since the Santa Ana winds
began blowing through the parched hills last week. Twenty people
have died in wildfires still raging in San Diego, San Bernardino
and Ventura counties.
Rucker and his crew from the Novato Fire Protection District,
north of San Francisco, were in San Diego County on Wednesday
fighting a wildfire that has burned more than 230,000 acres and
nearly 1,100 homes.
They were trying to save a mountain home near Wynola when the
fire flared up. The crew was overrun so quickly they didn't have
time to reach their engine, said Fred Batchelor, a state fire
marshal. He said they tried to take refuge in the house they were
trying to protect.
"It's calm one moment, and the next moment you have an
explosive situation," Batchelor said. "In this case, it flared up
and rolled in there and engulfed them."
One of the three surviving crew members, Capt. Doug McDonald,
was in critical condition Thursday with second-degree burns over 28
percent of his body. The other two, Shawn Kreps and Barrett Smith,
were treated for minor burns.
At the site just off Highway 78 and Orchard Lane, yellow police
tape cordoned off the area where Rucker died.
Hundreds of miles to the north in Novato, Rucker's fellow
firefighters remembered the 11-year veteran firefighter and father
of two as they stood around the memorial in the firehouse lobby.
"We're all struggling, trying to make sense of the situation,"
Northern said.
The shrine grew as firefighters from nearby communities and
Novato residents paid their respects.
Friends and colleagues remembered Rucker as gregarious and
generous, a man who organized holiday toy drives and volunteered
with the Boy Scouts.
Guy Durham lived a few doors down from the Ruckers for several
years, but didn't meet Steve Rucker until Durham was in a
hospital's intensive care unit after suffering a heart attack.
"We hadn't even met and the very next day he came to the ICU
checking on my status and asking if he could do anything," Durham
said. "That was the kind of caring person he was."
Fire Chief Jeff Meston prepared to fly to the San Diego area
with members of the firefighters' families Thursday. He said Rucker
was "really one of those firefighters that we all love."
"He's the kind of guy that organizes for the families - the
Easter Bunny coming, Santa Claus coming for the kids," Meston
said. "He was just a great man."
At a morning briefing in the San Diego area, many firefighters
wore black bands on their badges in memory of Rucker as they
prepared to go battle the blaze that had killed him.
"We know our job is dangerous," said Jim Venneau, a
31-year-old firefighter stationed in nearby Julian. "We know the
chances we take when we do these kinds of things. It bothers you.
You want to know exactly what happened because you don't want it to
happen to you."
---
On the Net:
Novato Fire Protection District: http://www.novatofire.org/

[NJFFSA16]

Coming Home-Monday 11/03/03

(Novato-AP) -- The body of a Novato firefighter killed in the
Southern California wildfires will soon be returned home.
The body of fire engineer Steven Rucker will be flown to Santa
Rosa tomorrow (Monday) by the California Air National Guard.
The body will then be escorted to Novato in a procession of
public safety vehicles.
A memorial service for Rucker is being planned for November 12th
at the Marin County Civic Center.

[NJFFSA16]

Hundreds gather to honor fallen Novato firefighter

(Santa Rosa-AP) -- Hundreds of police, firefighters and
emergency medical personnel lined the road to the airport in Santa
Rosa as the body of fallen Novato firefighter Steve Rucker came
home.
Rucker died last week when his four-man crew was overrun by
flames while trying to protect a home from a wildfire near Wynola
in San Diego County.
The captain of Rucker's crew, Doug McDonald, suffered burns over
28 percent of his body and remains at a San Diego burn facility. He
is expected to recover.
Shawn Kreps and Barrett Smith suffered minor burns.
They escorted Rucker's remains on the California Air National
Guard C-130 cargo plane yesterday.
Thousands of people are expected to attend Rucker's memorial
service November 12th at the Marin County fairgrounds.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[CALFFBOU]

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