SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) – Two Sacramento Fire Department firefighters from decades past will have their names added to the California Firefighters Memorial outside the State Capitol thanks to the years-long efforts of a current captain Sacramento Fire Department.
For the past four years, Capt. Christopher Harvey has been digging into old records to prove that the deaths of Sacramento firefighters Manuel J. Vero and Harvey N. Farncomb occurred while on duty.
“I felt it was important to recognize that these men had died in service, of causes that are now universally recognized as deaths in the line of duty,” Harvey told FOX40, citing the reason. why he started this investigation.
Vero died of a heart attack in 1936 at Fire Station 3 and Farncomb died of a heart attack in 1951 at Fire Station 2, according to Harvey.
According to Harvey, heart attacks were not considered fatalities in the line of duty until years later, when services began to consider the impacts that a firefighter’s duties can have on their cardiovascular system.
“In modern times, if a firefighter had a heart attack while on duty, it would automatically be considered a death in the line of duty,” Harvey said.
Harvey learned of the two men’s on-duty deaths from a series of files from Sacramento Fire Captain Harvey Heiser, who worked for firefighters in the 1930s through the 1950s, Harvey said.
From there, Harvey said he researched obituaries, service records, old photographs and old newspapers to piece together the stories of these two men.
“I am deeply interested in the rich history of the Sacramento Fire Department since I joined the department in 2002,” Harvey told FOX40. “Our department honors our heritage in several unique ways, and our department’s core values are ‘Honour, Courage, and Devotion to Duty’.”
Adding these men’s names to the memorial is also in keeping with the fire department’s motto “Remember Fallen Brothers,” according to Harvey.
Vero and Farncomb’s names will be added to the California Firefighters Memorial on July 30 along with two other Sacramento Fire Department firefighters who recently died while on duty:
- Firefighter Tamara Thacher (died 2019 of work-related cancer)
- Firefighter Conrad Weisker (died 2008 of work-related cancer)
This will be the first time in the ceremony’s history that the Sacramento Fire Department will add four names to the memorial wall, according to the fire department.
