(07-22) 12:49 PDT WILLOW CREEK, HUMBOLDT COUNTY -- A Hayward man working as a U.S. Forest Service firefighter died after falling from a helicopter during a while fighting the Backbone Fire in Humboldt County, authorities said today.
Thomas Marovich, 20, died at about 10:10 a.m. Tuesday after falling 200 feet from a Bell 212 helicopter at the Backbone Helibase in Willow Creek, authorities said.
In the classic holiday movie “It’s A Wonderful Life,” Jimmy Stewart’s guardian angel showed him that he was the “richest man in town.” Ventura County Firefighter Greg Chavez’ “Guardian Angel” has made him a rich man, too. Chavez, a member of Ventura County Firefighters Local 1364, has won the nationally broadcast American Inventor contest – and a $1 million prize – for his holiday fire safety device disguised as a Christmas tree ornament. His “Guardian Angel” design beat out five other finalists and literally thousands of entries to with the contest, which aired on ABC television on Wednesday nights.
California's first responders will be better prepared to meet the challenges of domestic terrorism thanks to CPF-backed legislation signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The CPF-backed legislation, AB 587, authored by Assemblywoman Betty Karnette (D-Long Beach), earmarks $2.5 million for firefighter anti-terrorism training -- half of the $5 million allocation made out of proceeds from a special 9/11 license plate fund.
In a solemn ceremony featuring a procession of uniformed firefighters and presentations to family members, 29 firefighters who fell in the line of duty were added to the California Firefighters Memorial. Located in historic Capitol Park, adjoining the California State Capitol in Sacramento, the Memorial carries the names of nearly 1,000 firefighters who died in service since California became a state in 1850. This year, the Memorial marks its fifth anniversary by honoring, among others, two Contra Costa firefighters killed in a San Pablo house fire in July and five U.S. Forest Service firefighters who died in the deadly Esperanza Fire last fall in Riverside Co.