IAFF Mourns Two Fire Fighters Killed in California Wildfires

September 1, 2009 – Raging wildfires in southern California has claimed the lives of two Los Angeles County Local 1014 fire fighters – Tedmund Hall, 47, and Arnaldo Quinones, 35 – and is threatening many California communities.

On August 30, Hall and Quinones were working to protect prison Camp 16 from the Station fire, the largest of several wildfires burning across the state. Although investigations are still ongoing, it appears the two were in a truck searching for an escape route for corrections personnel and inmates when their truck went over the side of a dirt road and fell 800 feet into a canyon.

Services for the fire fighters will be held on Saturday, September 12, at 10:00 a.m. at Dodgers Stadium located at 1000 Elysian Park Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90012.  As additional details regarding the services become available, they will be posted on the IAFF web site and the Local 1014 web site. 

Local 1014 has asked that the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) coordinate the fire apparatus, honor guard and pipe and drums that wish to participate. Please contact Vanessa Robinson at the CPF at (916) 921-9111 or vrobinson@cpf.org for more information.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hall and Quinones families,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “They made the ultimate sacrifice trying to save the lives of many others. Their heroic acts and dedication to duty will not be forgotten.”

The IAFF, along with the CPF, have extended offers of assistance to the families of the fallen fire fighters and to Local 1014 during this difficult time.

“Brothers Hall and Quinones brought commitment, courage and honor to all that they touched as fire fighters and proud members of Local 1014,” says Local 1014 President David Gillotte.

Of Hall, Gillotte says he was a frequent participant in union activities and dedicated many hours of service to protecting Camp 16. Additionally, Gillotte called Quinones “a rising star in the department and in our local, and was one of those genuinely good guys that you always want to have in your corner.”

Hall is survived by his wife, Katherine, sons Randall (21), and Steven (20), and parents, Roland Ray and Donna Marie Hall. Quinones is survived by his wife, Loressa, who is expecting their first child in the next several weeks, and his mother, Sonia Quinones.

Meanwhile, more than 5,000 fire service personnel from various IAFF affiliates and other fire service agencies continue to work to contain the wildfires that have already charred more than 122,000 acres and destroyed over 50 structures in the state.

Thousands of residents have been evacuated, and fire fighters in the field report that the combination of tough terrain and unrelenting weather conditions has made the fires difficult to contain. Temperatures have been around the 100 degree mark and winds are blowing as high as 30 miles per hour.

Because of the intensity of the fires and the need for more strike teams, fire fighters say that it could take up to two weeks to surround and extinguish the fires.

Earlier this week, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles and Monterey Counties. The cause of the fires remains unknown.