Body of CA Firefighter Missing in Fatal Library Blaze Found
Source Firehouse.com News
The remains of a Califronia firefighter who went missing while battling a fatal library fire Tuesday have been found.
Porterville firefighter Patrick Jones died in the blaze that also claimed the life of Capt. Raymond Figueroa. Crews had worked "tirelessly" to search through the debris left by the two-alarm blaze to locate Jones, the Porterville Fire Department stated in an online update.
Jones, 25, had been a Porterville firefighter since 2017. Figueroa, 35, joined the department in 2007.
Two 13-year-olds have been arrested in connection with the fire. Although his office hasn't received investigation reports on the incident, Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward said the teens are too young to be tried as adults, The Fresno Bee reports.
"I know it may be frustrating, but 13-year-olds cannot be tried as adults in California even for cases such as murder,” said Ward, adding that even if the teens are charged, convicted and sentenced, they can't be held past the age of 25 in the state.
Memorials for the firefighters have been set up near the site of the fire. A procession for Jones delivered his remains to the Tulane County Coroner's Office on Thursday, the department said.
The fire broke out at about 4:15 p.m., and Porterville crews made their way to the library, which is only a block from a fire station. Library staffers were able to evacuate the building and get everyone out, Lollis said.
As firefighters arrived, a second alarm was struck, and crews from the surrounding area, including Fresno County and CAL FIRE, responded, Baer said. More than 50 firefighters eventually were at the scene, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Capt. Joanne Baer, the incident information officer for the fire department, said that people are available for firefighters who are struggling with the incident to talk to. The department also is working with firefighters on incident stress.
The deaths of Figueroa and Jones mark the first instance of two line-of-duty deaths in the United States since 2018 in Pennsylvania. York firefighters Ivan Flanscha, 50, and Zachary Anthony, 29, were killed when a wall collapsed following a warehouse fire.
