The IAFF is saddened to learn United Emergency Medical Professionals of Arizona Local I-60 member Jacob Dindinger, 20, has died. Dindinger was one of three IAFF members who sustained gunshot wounds during a multiple-scene shooting incident in Tuscon, Arizona.
“Whether a member has been on the job for four months or 40 years, every loss is tragic and heartbreaking because each and every IAFF member is family to us,” says General President Ed Kelly. “On behalf of the more than 324,000 members of the IAFF, my condolences go out to the family, Local I-60 members and all who knew him well.”
“This IAFF will continue to support Brother Dindinger’s family, not just in this immediate time of need, but long into the future because we take care of our own. They are part of our greater IAFF family,” says General Secretary-Treasurer Frank Líma. “At the same time, we continue to support our members still recovering from their injuries from this tragic shooting”
On July 18, Dindinger and a fellow Local I-60 member were staged two blocks from a working house fire on standby for an unrelated incident. The shooter, Leslie Scarlett, approached the EMT unit and shot Dindinger in the head and his partner in the arm and chest.
Meanwhile, Scarlett left the scene of the first shooting and approached the house fire, shooting at fire fighters and bystanders. One Local 479 member was injured and one bystander was killed. The shooter was injured in a shootout with police officers and later died of his injuries.
Residents of the burning home included a mother and her three children. The responding fire fighters found the remains of the mother in the home. The three children were later found alive in a different location.
All three IAFF members were transported to the hospital for treatment. Dindinger died in the hospital on July 29.
“As Dindinger died in the line of duty, his name will be etched on the Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Wall of Honor in Colorado Springs where his memory will live on,” says 10th District Vice President Steve Gilman. “We will never forget his sacrifice.”
Dindinger was born in Long Beach, California, but moved to Tuscon when he was young. In a statement posted on social media, his family says Dindinger wanted to be an EMT after visiting his older brother, Long Beach Local 372 member Bryan Presetti. Dindinger’s first day on the job was in March 2021.
