Memorial Planned for Late CA Firefighter

A public memorial service will be held Monday at Golden 1 Center for firefighter Tamara Thacher, who died last week of job-related cancer, the Sacramento Fire Department announced.

A memorial and celebration of Thacher’s life has been set for 11 a.m. Monday at the downtown arena.

• RELATED: CA Firefighter Dies of Occupational Cancer, FD Says

Thacher died Nov. 26 after a battle with occupational cancer, department officials announced last week. She was a 31-year veteran of the city’s fire department, and is the first line-of-duty or job-related death for the Sacramento Fire Department since 1990.

Colleagues remembered Thacher as a beloved and respected “role model for aspiring female firefighters,” the fire department said in statements last week. She spent much of her career working as a firefighter at Station 5 in Upper Land Park, and worked as a peer support counselor at the end of her career.

All members of the public are welcome to attend Monday’s service, the department said in a news release.

Firefighters face a 14 percent higher chance of cancer-related death than the general U.S. population, according to one study referenced by the National Fire Protection Association.

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