Seven fallen firefighters from Los Angeles and Orange counties were honored Sept. 28 at the annual California Firefighters Memorial ceremony in Sacramento.
The firefighters were among 34 whose names were added to the more than 1,400 inscribed on the memorial in Capitol Park, adjacent to the state Capitol.
The seven are:
• Ryan Lee Thornton Sr., a captain with the Long Beach Fire Department, who died due to a job-related illness on Sept. 30, 2015;
• Allen Chronister, a captain with the Long Beach Fire Department, who died due to a job-related illness on June 8, 2017;
• Ron Castro of the Orange County Fire Authority, who died from job-related cancer on Nov. 30, 2016;
• Robert Gene Brantley of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, who died on Jan. 5, 2018 from the effects of job-related cancer;
• Russell Van Fagen, a hazardous materials specialist with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, who died on Nov. 24, 2018 from the effects of job-related cancer;
• Randall Duarte, a firefighter/paramedic of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, who died from a job-related illness on Jan. 13, 2019; and
