Time heals—but it can also make one forget.
At a solemn ceremony Saturday at the state Capitol in Sacramento to honor firefighters who’ve died in the line of duty—including Capt. David Rosa, killed June 25—Long Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Jeff Hardin urged everyone to keep telling stories of those who’ve passed.
“Keep laughing and talking about them,” he said. “Keep their memory alive.”
.@lbfd #firefighter, Jeff Hardin, remembers beloved colleague and brother David Rosa "Every one of the 37 heroes we honor today has a story to tell. For you, the families, I say: 'never stop telling those stories'" @lbfirefighters #CAFirefightersMemorial pic.twitter.com/zUyARVKR1P
— CA Fire Foundation (@CAFireFound) September 29, 2018
Rosa, a 17-year veteran of the department, was fatally shot while responding to a call three months ago at Covenant Manor, a retirement home Downtown.
Rosa’s name on Saturday was officially added to the California Firefighters Memorial in Sacramento, along with 36 others who have died in the line of duty or from job-related injuries.
Long Beach firefighter Ernesto Torres, who was injured in the shooting, presented Rosa’s wife Lynley and his two sons with a flag during Saturday’s ceremony.
More than 40 firefighters and command staff from the Long Beach Fire Department made the trip to Sacramento to walk in a procession and honor Rosa. Others in the department watched via a livecast.
Hardin, the local battalion chief, said Rosa, 45, was a beloved member of the department who trained numerous firefighters. He was also an umpire for little league games, a handyman at work and at home, a son who popped in for dinner with his parents, the guy behind the barbecue and a “storyteller who made you laugh,” the battalion chief said.
“He took pride in everything he did,” Hardin said.
The memorial includes more than 1,300 names of firefighters who’ve died since 1850. The wall and ceremony are funded by the nonprofit California Fire Foundation.
Speakers included California Attorney General Javier Becerra and Brian Rice of the state fire foundation. Both spoke about the new risks and challenges for firefighters across the state as wildfires grow in size and frequency.
Several of those who were honored Saturday had died in such fires, including Cory Iverson, 32, who was killed Dec. 14 in the 242,500-acre Thomas Fire in Ventura County.
The circumstances of Rosa’s death, however, are something “we can’t train for,” Rice said.
Hardin said no one from the department ever imagined the circumstances of the day Rosa was killed.
Authorities believe Thomas Kim, 77, set a blaze in his Downtown apartment intentionally and then began shooting when firefighters arrived. Kim, who died while in custody, told authorities he began firing because he was scared.
Rosa left behind his wife, Lynley; two sons, Alec and Sam; his parents, Paul and Jean, and a sister, Julia.
