Rosa’s death shook fire departments throughout the region and left the city reeling; more than 10,000 came to his funeral<\/a> at the Long Beach Arena.<\/p>\r\n Two firefighters who were in the midst of the chaos on June 25, 2018, shared their experience with the Post, near the anniversary of Rosa’s death.<\/p>\r\n ‘You’re a firefighter’<\/strong><\/p>\r\n At the time of Rosa’s death, Lupinetti had only been with the department for a year, having recently completed her probation. She felt lucky to be assigned to Station 10, where Rosa oversaw the B shift.<\/p>\r\n She had served with Rosa for six months, her first assignment out of drill school. She was then transferred to Station 1.<\/p>\r\n “He is probably the most genuine, nicest person I\u2019ve ever met, that you also had the best time with,\u201d she said. \u201cHe never made fun of anybody in a malicious way, it was always funny. There was just a respect he commanded without really having to say anything, it was just knowing that he was so experienced and he would always admit his mistakes, too. He was just human, and that\u2019s what made me really respect him and it makes me miss him a lot.\u201d<\/p>\r\n The morning when gunfire erupted, she overcame the emotion by remembering something Rosa himself had told her: After responding to her first death\u2014a pedestrian-vehicle collision\u2014Rosa and Torres helped her cope.<\/p>\r\n “[Rosa\u2019s] like, \u2018These are the situations you\u2019re going to deal with, you\u2019re a firefighter, it\u2019s your duty to make the situation better,'” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n \u201cSo that was a little flash in my mind, like OK, I have to make the situation better, even though in this moment, I\u2019m just frozen and I can\u2019t believe it\u2019s you laying there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n She never imagined she would help load him into the back of an ambulance.<\/p>\r\n \u201cWhat I was thinking in that moment was his family doesn\u2019t deserve this.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n After hearing two bangs, LBFD engineer Nick Marantz raced to the rescue vehicle.<\/p>\r\n “I didn\u2019t see the gurney inside because they had already taken it out so I ran past a couple chiefs, they asked me what happened, I said Rosa got shot, jumped in the ambulance, drove around the block with the doors open already,” said Marantz. “<\/span>I was driving so fast I thought I was going to flip the rescue.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Marantz, an engineer, had made the trip to St. Mary Medical Center many times. On that morning, he was so frantic he almost passed the entrance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n While he waited there, Lupinetti was still outside the retirement home. It was close to two hours before the crews waiting at the scene would find out about Rosa\u2019s passing. When they did, Lupinetti hugged one of her closest friends from drill school, the moment captured by a Long Beach Post photographer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cOnce we found out the news, everybody in that area was upset obviously, some were showing signs of being a little bit more angry, some were quiet,\u201d Lupinetti said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n She has the Post photo on her phone, and if she happens to scroll through her image library, she always pauses to look at it, knowing that, at the time, she was comforted by having such a close friend nearby. It still brings her comfort when reflecting on the situation today. She thought it was weird at first, taking comfort from an image of such a tragic event, but everyone processes things differently, she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cNow that it\u2019s a year later I\u2019ve gotten to a much better place, but it wasn\u2019t easy by any means. Being at the station, being around people here was nice, but being at home was not fun,\u201d Lupinetti said, holding back tears. \u201cAnd then driving by that location, the first time I went there I was just angry.\u201d<\/p>\r\n All Long Beach Fire Department stations have a photo of Rosa, said Lupinetti.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n \u201cI don\u2019t think anybody walks past it and doesn\u2019t think about him and what a great person he was and just how it\u2019s not right that he went that way, at all,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In the months following Rosa’s death, there\u2019s not a call Marantz has been on that he hasn\u2019t thought, \u201cWhat am I going to do if someone starts shooting at us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cWhat am I going to say on the radio, where am I going to take cover, how am I going to help my buddies inside, like thoughts I\u2019ve never had before. The fact that it\u2019s even in the realm of possibilities is crazy. It doesn\u2019t change anything that we do, but the fact that it\u2019s even in your head is telling of what happened.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n Marantz has been with the Long Beach Fire Department for nearly 15 years and was hired a few years after Rosa. They saw each other often.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n \u201cWe just had one of those bonds like we had with most of the guys. It\u2019s just the time here, you become so close going to all the calls and hanging out at the station. It\u2019s not like he was my blood family, but at the same time, this hurts as much as losing a brother. I can\u2019t imagine what his wife and kids are going through.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Today, on the anniversary of Rosa\u2019s death, Lupinetti will be in San Diego playing softball in the California Firefighter Summer Games, the start of which will always fall around June 25.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n![\"David](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/DgjLe5UUwAIvurT-969x1244.jpg\")
\r\nThe drive to the hospital<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/06_SpotNews_TRC_03-970x548.jpg\")
The months after the shooting\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n
On the anniversary<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n