Crime & Safety

View of S.F. Funeral Procession From Novato Fire

Engines, ambulances and other vehicles lined up for miles through San Francisco before and after the funeral of two fallen firefighters, and crews from Novato shared some poignant images.

The and neighboring Patch towns shared some photos of the procession in San Francisco on Friday as emergency responders statewide paid tribute to two firefighters killed in the line of duty on June 2.

Novato Fire sent San Francisco two fully staffed engine companies while maintaining normal staffing patterns back home. Engine 66 was assigned to cover SFFD Station 34 at 41st Avenue and Geary Boulevard. Engine 67 took part in the funeral service and procession. The attached photographs were taken by Captain Chris Wikeen of Engine 67.

At St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco, where thousands of public safety officers gathered, men and women in their dress blues lined the back of an overflow room where all the seats were full.

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About halfway through the 3 1/2-hour service, two firefighters stood up and offered their seats to men who had been standing for a long time. The firefighters had to imply they were leaving the room to convince their colleagues to sit down.

It was the kind of cooperation and selflessness that seemed to run like a thread through the funeral of fire Lt. Vincent Perez, 48, and firefighter-paramedic Anthony "Tony" Valerio, 53, of Station 36, who were burned while fighting a fire in the Diamond Heights neighborhood June 2.

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Perez died shortly after the fire, and Valerio succumbed to his  injuries two days later.

Police and firefighters from across the country and beyond gathered to remember the men -- one talkative and one taciturn, but both choosing daily to put their lives on the line to help others.

"On the outside they seemed pretty different," fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said during the service. "But both shared an unwavering tenacity and unwillingness to give up on what they believed in."

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee also spoke at the funeral, which was attended by  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other elected officials. Lee said he was profoundly sorry to the Valerio and Perez families for their loss.


"The best tribute we can give is rededicating ourselves as citizens in honor of them," Lee said.

He also thanked the San Francisco General Hospital employees who "fought valiantly" to save the two men. Several hospital workers donning maroon scrubs attended the memorial.

Also in attendance were police and firefighters from as close as Oakland and as far as Dallas, Boston, Mexico and Canada.

— Bay City News Service. Novato Patch's Brent Ainsworth contributed to this report.


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