Two Fallen Los Angeles County Fire Fighters Honored

September 14, 2009 – Thousands of family, friends and fire fighters filled Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles, California, Saturday, September 12, to pay tribute to fallen Los Angeles County Local 1014 fire fighters Tedmund Hall, 47, and Arnaldo Quinones, 35. Hall and Quinones died in the line of duty in a wildfire located in the Angeles National Forest.

Before the ceremony, scores of fire apparatus passed under two enormous American flags hanging from fire ladders and circled around the stadium. Inside, Hall and Quinones were remembered as brothers in their extended fire fighter family.

Speaking to the Hall and Quinones families, IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger said, “We want you to know that their fire fighter sisters and brothers loved Arnie and Ted, yet we understand that you loved them more. We want you to know that we miss them tremendously, but we know you will miss them more.

Schaitberger added, “From all of us in this great union, this brotherhood and sisterhood called the IAFF, we want you to know that Captain Ted Hall and Fire Fighter Specialist Arnie Quinones may be gone, but they will never be forgotten.”

Local 1014 President Dave Gillotte spoke about the unique qualities that made Tedmund Hall and Arnaldo “Arnie’ Quinones crucial members of Local 1014 and the fire service.

“Ted – veteran, widely respected, hardcore fire fighter – was immersed in the fire service. He absorbed information, broadening his knowledge and passing it on to his men to his colleagues and to the men of Camp 16,” said Gillotte.

Of Quinones, Gillotte said, “Arnie knew no strangers. He was outgoing, his emotions as apparent as the tattoos that showed his respect for the fire service.” Quinones had a tattoo dedicated to fire fighters lost on 9/11 which covered his entire back. It read, “First in. Last out.”

Other special guests included Vice President Joe Biden and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Additionally, several inmates from Camp 16, the remote prison where Hall and Quinones helped supervise inmates trained in wilderness protection, were give special clearance to attend.

Hall and Quinones were killed when their vehicle went off a road and over a cliff at Mount Gleason during the first days of the Station fire. The two were searching for an escape route for Camp 16’s staff and inmates.

The Station fire, which began August 26, has scorched more than 160,500 acres and destroyed 82 residences. It is currently about 86 percent contained and is expected to be fully contained by September 19. About 1,500 fire personnel remain on the scene.

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.