LA, Orange County fallen firefighters among those honored in Sacramento
(From left to right) Top: Ron Castro, Russell Fagen, Randall Duarte, Cecil Morris Bottom: Allen Chronister, Ryan Thornton, Robert Brantley
LOS ANGELES (FOX 11) - Seven fallen firefighters from Los Angeles and Orange counties were honored Saturday at the annual California Firefighters Memorial ceremony in Sacramento.
The firefighters were among 34 others whose names were added to the more than 1,400 inscribed on the memorial in Capitol Park, adjacent to the state Capitol.
The seven are:
--Ryan Lee Thornton Sr., a captain with the Long Beach Fire Department, who died due to a job-related illness on Sept. 30, 2015;
--Allen Chronister, a captain with the Long Beach Fire Department, who died due to a job-related illness on June 8, 2017;
--Ron Castro of the Orange County Fire Authority, who died from job-related cancer on Nov. 30, 2016;
--Robert Gene Brantley of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, who died on Jan. 5, 2018 from the effects of job-related cancer;
--Russell Van Fagen, a hazardous materials specialist with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, who died on Nov. 24, 2018 from the effects of job-related cancer;
--Randall Duarte, a firefighter/paramedic of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, who died from a job-related illness on Jan. 13, 2019;
--Cecil Morris, captain with the Los Angeles Fire Department, who died on April 17, 2018 after being diagnosed with job-related brain cancer.
In addition to the seven local firefighters, three firefighters who battled the devastating California wildfires last year were also honored.
They include Redding firefighter Jeremy Stoke, CAL FIRE Heavy Equipment Operator Braden Varney and Arrowhead Hotshot firefighter Brian Hughes.
The California Fire Foundation said the ceremony was open to the public and was live-streamed.
This is the 17th annual California Firefighters Memorial.
FOX 11’s Alexi Chidbachian contributed to this report