USFA LODD: California Firefighter On-Duty Death Notification 02.05.2017

On February 5, 2017, Captain II David Todd Moorman, 50, worked a 36 hour shift during which he fell ill.  Captain Moorman's last call was a vehicle fire at 0530hrs.  After this incident, his duty shift ended and he went home.  Within an hour of Captain Moorman arriving home, he suffered a medical emergency and collapsed. A family member witnessed the collapse and immediately began to render first aid, including CPR, until responding units from the Ventura County Fire Department arrived on scene and initiated medical care. Captain Moorman was transported to Los Robles hospital in Thousand Oaks, California, where, despite all of the valiant efforts to save him, Captain Moorman was pronounced deceased a short time later.

Our condolences to the Moorman Family & Friends, Los Angeles City Fire Department, and to all affected by Fire Captain David Todd Moorman’s passing. 

To date, 80 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2017. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page.

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.) 

USFA LODD: California Firefighter On-Duty Death Notification 10.16.2017

On October 16, 2017 Firefighter/Driver Garrett Paiz, 38, was killed in Napa, California, while operating an empty 1993 Kenworth water tender (tanker) when, according to the California Highway Patrol, the vehicle left the roadway on a curve and crashed through a guardrail down a ravine.  Firefighter/Driver Paiz, who died at the scene, was working on the Nuns fire burning in the hills above Oakville and was heading for a water resupply when the crash occurred near the bottom of a steep winding section of roadway called the Oakville Grade. According to initial reports, the roadway was closed for fire operations only at the time of the crash, and no other vehicles were involved. Firefighter/Driver Paiz, a native of the Coachella Valley in Southern California, and a volunteer firefighter with the Noel Fire Department in Missouri, was working as a contract firefighter with CAL FIRE at the time of his passing. The cause of the fatal incident remains under investigation by authorities.

Our condolences to the Paiz Family & Friends, CAL FIRE, and to all affected by Firefighter/Driver Garrett Paiz’s passing. 

To date, 74 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2017. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page.

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.) 

USFA LODD: California Firefighter On-Duty Death Notification 09.10.2017

On September 10, 2017 Battalion Chief Terry Smerdel, 59, returned from an early morning fire alarm call, and was later found by coworkers in his office, unresponsive. Advanced Life Support measures were immediately initiated. He was pronounced deceased surrounded by his Fire Department Family, and later joined at the station by the Department’s Chaplain and the Smerdel family.

Our condolences to the Smerdel Family & Friends, San Francisco Fire Department, and to all affected by Battalion Chief Terry Smerdel’s passing.

To date, 67 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2017. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page.

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.) 

USFA LODD: California Firefighter On-Duty Death Notification 08.31.2017

On August 31, 2017 while returning from an assignment on the Railroad Fire in the Sierra National Forest, Battalion Chief Gary Helming, 47, was killed when a Ford F-350 traveling in the opposite direction suffered a tire failure, crossed the middle of the road, and struck Chief Helming's vehicle head-on.

Our condolences to the Helming Family & Friends, Los Padres National Forest - Santa Lucia District, and to all affected by Battalion Chief Gary Helming’s passing.

To date, 66 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2017. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page.

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)