1st Vice President Dave Lopez and FFPM and 1014 Brother Steve Blackburn traveled to Contra Costa County to honor our fallen brothers...

Dave Lopez and Steve Blackburn joined thousands of firefighters along with Chiefs Tripp and Madrigal and Division Representatives and our honor guard and the pipes and drums to "celebrate the lives" of Brothers Matt Burton and Scott Desmond who made the ultimate sacrifice trying to save lives.  Thank you to all who traveled north to honor our fallen and rest assured our Department and Union were well represented...Work with Old School Honor and Be Safe..

Fraternally,

President Gillotte and the Executive Board

Celebration of Life Honors Fallen Contra Costa County Firefighters

Two devoted family men who wore a "permanent smile" and loved their fire service lives were remembered Friday at a "Celebration of Life" Memorial in Concord.

Contra Costa County firefighters Matthew Burton and Scott Desmond gave their lives in the line of duty July 21st in a rescue attempt during a devastating house fire in San Pablo that also took the lives of two citizens.

"It's appropriate that this is a 'Celebration of Life' because nobody knew how to celebrate life better than Matt and Scott," said an emotional Ron Walker, President of Contra Costa County Professional Firefighters Local 1230. "When you were with them, you knew two things -- one, that they'd be smiling, and the other, that they'd make you smile, too."

Burton, a 35-year-old captain, and Desmond, a 37-year-old engineer, were the first traumatic line-of-duty-deaths in the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District's history.

Brothers Burton and The two men were honored with a 10-mile long apparatus procession that included vehicles from across California. Oregon and Washington. The procession was followed by a solemn service at the Sleep Train Pavilion at Concord. 

Roughly five-thousand people, including some 2,500 uniformed firefighters came to pay their respects, some from as far away as Boston and New York. The ceremony that included presentations from Contra Costa County Fire Chief Keith Richter and IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger.

"It takes a tragedy like [the San Pablo fire] to remind us of the awe-inspiring actions like those of Matt and Scott, who come to the rescue when everything is going wrong," General President Schaitberger said, addressing their surviving families. "It is in these dark moments that the rest of the world sees what you have seen every day ... courage, honor, sacrifice and selfless service to their communities."

Presiding over the service was California Professional Firefighters President Lou Paulson. Paulson is an active fire captain with Contra Costa County and knew and worked alongside Burton and Desmond for most of their careers.

"If we could turn back the clock to last Saturday, everyone here would do it in hopes of getting Matt and Scott out in time," Paulson said. "We can't turn back the clock, but we can celebrate their lives."

The ceremony also featured vocalist Eve Gmeiner and the Contra Costa Children's Choir. The Pipes and Drums of the California Professional Firefighters provided the traditional firefighter musical tribute, in an emotional rendition of "Amazing Grace" that brought tears to many eyes.

At the end, in accordance with fire service tradition, the two heroes were honored with "The Last Alarm".

Their duty well done ... they are going home.

(CLICK ON PHOTOS TO VIEW LARGER IMAGE)

FOR THE FAMILIES

A Memorial Fund has been established to benefit the families of the two fallen firefighters. Contributions can be made to the Local 1230 Widows and Orphans Fund, 112 Blue Ridge Drive, Martinez, CA 94553.

LODD: Two Contra Costa Firefighters Die During House Fire Rescue

Updated 7/24/07- 2130

United Professional Firefighters of Contra Costa County, Local 1230 is grieved to announce the loss of two of its bravest, who gave their lives in the line of duty.

Captain Matt Burton and Engineer Scott Desmond died early Saturday morning while attempting to rescue two people from a destructive house fire in San Pablo.

Burton, 35, was a 14 year veteran of the Contra Costa Fire District who had only recently been promoted. Desmond, 37, worked with Burton at Station 70, located in downtown San Pablo.

The two people for whom they had reentered the home, were discovered dead at the scene. Shortly after the discovery, the two firefighters were caught in a flash-over and were not able to escape.

The deaths were the first traumatic line of duty deaths in Contra Costa in some three decades.

The fire is in the early stages of investigation, and details are still unknown.

PLEASE CHECK BACK OFTEN -- CPF will provide updates as they become available.

The thoughts and prayers of all California firefighters go out to the families of our fallen brothers, as well as to the members of Local 1230.

	UPDATE ON FRIDAY MEMORIAL HONORING TWO FALLEN CONTRA COSTA FIREFIGHTERS -- PLEASE DISTRIBUTE HONOR GUARD, PROCESSION INFORMATION, APPARATUS STAGING AND SCHEDULE INFORMATION FOR FRIDAY "CELEBRATION OF LIFE" TRIBUTE TO FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS MATT BURTON AND SCOTT DESMOND    A CELEBRATION OF LIFE A "Celebration of Life" honoring the memory of Contra Costa County Fire Captain Matt Burton and Engineer Scott Desmond has been scheduled Friday, July 27th in Concord. Brothers Burton and Desmond were killed during an attempted rescue at a house fire in San Pablo in the pre-dawn hours July 21st. The memorial, which will include an apparatus procession and full firefighter honors, will be held at the Concord's Sleeptrain Pavillion on Friday, July 27, 2007. The service will begin at 11:00am. Personnel not participating in procession and members of the public wishing to pay their respects are urged to arrive no later than 10:00am. Sleeptrain Pavillion at Concord is located at 2000 Kirker Pass Road, Concord, CA 94521. MAPQUEST LINK APPARATUS PROCESSION All departments are encouraged to send apparatus, and an apparatus procession is planned for both district and out-of-district apparatus. Apparatus for outside agencies will stage at the Sun Valley Mall parking lot, 1 Sun Valley Mall, Concord, CA. APPARATUS ARE REQUESTED TO ARRIVE BY 7:30AM. PROCESSION WILL BEGIN AT 8:30AM. (DIRECTIONS LINK).   AGENCIES PLANNING TO SEND RIGS ARE ASKED TO RSVP WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: -- Agency Name and Address -- Number and type of apparatus -- Number of personnel   Please RSVP to John Vierra at Contra Costa Fire -- jviera@srvfire.ca.gov For lodging and overnight apparatus parking, please see below. HONOR GUARDS Honor Guards from all agencies are invited to participate in the ceremony. If your agency or local is sending an honor guard, please plan to have a representative from your honor guard available for a walk-thru of the facility Thursday afternoon at the Concord Pavillion (THIS IS TENTATIVE -- TIME TBD.  Please check back at www.cpf.org for latest or watch emails). An RSVP contact will be provided Wednesday, but all honor guards will be welcome and will have a place in the ceremony. LODGING AND OVERNIGHT APPARATUS PARKING A special "Firefighter Memorial" rate is being offered to all firefighters attending the Celebration of Life at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Concord, CA. The hotel is located at 45 John Glenn Drive, Concord CA 94520. (LINK TO DIRECTIONS) The phone number to call for reservations and information is (925) 825-7700. Please indicate your affiliation and request the Firefighter Memorial rate. The hotel is located adjacent to Buchanan Field. Arrangements have been made to park apparatus on the airfield directly behind the hotel.   FOR THE FAMILIES A Memorial Fund has been established to benefit the families of the two fallen firefighters. Contributions can be made to the Local 1230 Widows and Orphans Fund, 112 Blue Ridge Drive, Martinez, CA 94553. FOR MORE INFORMATION, LINKS AND THE LATEST UPDATES, PLEASE GO TO WWW.CPF.ORG.
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CLICK HERE TO READ A REPORT AT THE CONTRA COSTA TIMES WEB SITE

CLICK HERE FOR A REPORT ON THE FIRE FROM KPIX-TV IN SAN FRANCISCO