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Brothers and Sisters,
Today marks one year since the Tarapaca Incident, where, in a common house fire, we lost one of our own, Brother Jon Flagler. Jon was an amazing Firefighter who spent 19 years with Vernon Fire before becoming a proud LA County Firefighter, and on January 6 last year at about 2:50 am, he responded to his last alarm.
“We Shall Never Forget” - means something to us all. Today please take time to remember Jon and his amazing family, Jen, Brody, Jack, Dwight, and the entire Flagler family as we honor Jon and work to support them on this difficult day.
Jon was 47 years young, a great husband, father, son, uncle, brother to us all, and an all-around jokester. Jon loved being a firefighter and his smile and big eyes and mischievous ways were infectious as he lit up every room he entered. Losing Jon was and is devastating to us all. Tell some stories today about Jon and his practical jokes or about off-duty life centered around faith, family, and the ocean. Take time to remember our brother and his contributions to our LA County Fire Family.
Please also take a moment to stand with the crews of Fire Station 83, all of Battalion 14, and all the alumni from Vernon Fire who worked alongside Jon for so many years. They need our love and our support today more than ever.
Let today also remind us that our job is dangerous, and every day we go to work, it could be our last. It is serious business. We must train and fight to learn from mistakes and work to prevent injury or loss of life whenever and wherever we can.
Please honor Jon also today by reviewing the Tarapaca SIRT report. Go over things that matter with your crews. Use today to remember why we train and pass on to our newer generations of firefighters lessons to help them do this difficult job. Checking our SCBA’s with all gauges, Two In Two Out - the “Buddy System” on all fires, having hose lines and Thermal Imagers in place where you might need them, radio procedures and radio dynamics for essential communications, Fire Ground Survival Training and Mayday Procedures and more.
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| Photos from today’s ceremony at Fire Station 83. Thank you to Supervisor Janice Hahn for attending and honoring Brother Flagler’s sacrifice. |
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We must face our craft and every injury or LODD with a candid look at what we can learn and work to change things where we can when needed to be better each and every time we respond. We owe this to our members and families, and we honor Jon today by not forgetting that.
Thank you to all the crews who helped with the ceremony today and to Chief Marrone and Supervisor Hahn for their continued support in dealing with the Tarapaca Incident and all we must do to take care of our own.
PEER Support and Chaplain Services are in place today and will be reaching out to our crews and families and to all remember if you find yourself struggling today, contact PEER Support for the help you may need.
Jon Flagler, Jen, Brody, and Jack--WE SHALL NOT FORGET. We all lift a greyhound on high and toast Jon in heaven as we stand together as one fire family with love and strength on this day and every day forward. |
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In Solidarity,
President Dave Gillotte and the Local 1014 Executive Board |
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