For three years preceding his death, Capt. David Rosa worked at the Long Beach Fire Department Regional Training Facility, where he helped hundreds of new firefighters prepare for the job.
In honor of a “dedicated public servant,” the City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to rename the facility, located at 2249 Argonne Ave., after Rosa, who was fatally shot on June 25 while responding to a call in a senior living facility near Downtown Long Beach.
Police suspect elderly man set blaze before shooting firefighters in Long Beach, LBPD says
The city will make an exception to its normal policy of waiting at least a year after a person’s death before a memorial like this, due to the “tragic circumstances and Captain Rosa’s sacrifice,” officials said.
Long Beach Fire Chief Mike DuRee choked back tears on Tuesday as he spoke of Rosa’s service and noted the significance of the gesture on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“From this day forward every single young man and women that joins the Long Beach Fire Department will hear the story of Capt. Rosa and they’ll understand that sometimes in the service to our community you have to pay the ultimate sacrifice,” he said. “It’s a fitting tribute to a dedicated public servant.”
Rosa was a 17-year veteran with the local department, and served as a captain for six years. He spent most of time at stations 11 and 10, and for three years was on the leadership team of the training facility.
He was selected for this position because of his “demeanor and willingness to assist the next generation of firefighters in their preparation for the challenges that lay ahead,” city officials said.
The man accused of killing Rosa, Thomas Man Kim, 77, died while in custody awaiting trial. Police said Kim set off an explosion at his apartment and then opened fire on the firefighters who responded, grazing one of them and fatally wounding Rosa.
A note Kim wrote had revealed that he set off the explosion in an attempt to kill himself and his upstairs neighbor, whom he’d been feuding with over noise, according to prosecutors. After police arrested him at the scene, he told officers he started shooting at rescuers because he’d gotten scared, according to court documents.
More than 10,000 people came to a funeral held in the days after Rosa’s death.
State lawmakers also passed a measure late last month to name a stretch of Interstate 5 in Orange County after Rosa, who lived in San Juan Capistrano.