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Saturday, January 17, 2009

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Obituary: CDF retiree- Robert Lee 'Cap' Caplinger

Posted: 16 Jan 2009 01:19 PM CST

Obituary: Robert Lee 'Cap' Caplinger passed away at his home in Wellington, Nevada, on Sunday, January 11, 2009. He was 81. Robert Caplinger retired from the CDF in Bishop in 1982 and enjoyed a retirement of 26 years.

Cap was born in San Diego, California, on November 15, 1927, the son of Guy and Corinne Caplinger. He grew up in southern California and attended school in Hemet, California.

He was a World War II veteran and a Korean War veteran, having served in the U.S. Navy at the end of World War II and in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

He worked for the California Division of Forestry in Southern California until 1969, and then transfered to Bishop, California, with his wife and four children. He retired from the CDF in Bishop in 1982 and moved to Wellington, where he lived for the past 26 years.

He enjoyed hunting and fishing and loved spending time with his family and friends.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 57 years, Katherine 'Cass' Caplinger of Wellington; his son, Tom and his wife Denise Caplinger of Silver Springs, Nevada; his daughter, Susan Caplinger of Bishop, California; his grandchildren, Melissa Caplinger of San Jacinto, CA, Chris and Jen Harkey and Travis Combs all of Milwaukie, Oregon, Kody Combs of Silver Springs, NV, and Erin and Stevie Spry of North Las Vegas, NV; his great-grandchildren, Grace Jonstrud and Alex Harkey of Milwaukie, Oregon; his sister, Wanda Harris of Fullerton, CA; a nephew, Gerrit and his wife Lottie Schilder, and a niece, Gracie Schilder of Bishop, California.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his two sons, Dave and Bob; a grandson, Chris; two brothers, Raymond and Bill; and a sister, Betty Ann Schilder-Lester.

Funeral services: Private family services will be held at a later date. Arrangements and cremation is under the direction of Freitas Rupracht Funeral Home, Yerington.

Online Memorial: Family and friends may sign the online guest book at www.FRFH.net

Donations: Memorial donations may be made in his name to CDF Museum, 3800 Sierra Hwy., San Bernadino, Californa, 92405.

Hero: Mother gives her life for son's

Posted: 16 Jan 2009 01:05 PM CST

Woman 'a hero,' firefighters say 'She was using her body to shield her son'

Written by Kurt Madar, The Triplicate January 14, 2009 12:00 pm

Victoria Di Silvestro "died a hero," firefighters said Tuesday.

At 5 a.m. Sunday morning a fire caused by a heating mat on a couch broke out in the downstairs of the home she shared with her 6 year-old son in the Pebble Beach Apartments.

Anthony Bookhammer

When firefighters found Di Silvestro, 36, in the thick black smoke they rolled her over to get her out and discovered the boy, Anthony Bookhammer, beneath her.

"She died protecting her son," said Crescent Fire Protection District volunteer Darrin Short. "She was using her body to shield her son."

"They came out of there saying, 'You won't believe this, she was up there shielding her son,'" Short said. "We really want people to know what she did. She died a hero."

Di Silvestro had also held Anthony outside the front upstairs window so that he could breathe air with less smoke and heat while she was stuck inside, Short said.

When flames burst from below and drove them back in, Short said that she did the only thing she could, "she covered him with her own body and burned to death. In 19 years I have never done or seen anything close to that level of bravery."

When Crescent City Volunteer Fire Department duty chief Michael Knight arrived on the scene at 5:44 a.m., Di Silvestro and her son Anthony were at a second-story window directly above the fire.

His report provides the following details.

"She was yelling, 'Help me, help us get out,'" Knight wrote.

At this point the first engine was not on scene yet and there was no way into the building due to the downstairs being engulfed in fire, Knight wrote.

After a California Highway Patrol officer broke a window in the apartment next door and opened the front door, Knight attempted to go upstairs in the adjacent apartment to try and pull Di Silvestro and Anthony from the burning second story onto the outside ledge.

"As I entered the upstairs bedroom the officers started yelling 'get out.'" Knight wrote. "I came back to the head of the stairwell and saw fire going across the top of the doorway. I put my head down, tried to stay as low as I could, and ran out of the apartment."

As Knight got outside, he saw that the window where Di Silvestro and Anthony had been standing was also on fire. Flames from the bottom floor of the structure were flaring up and entering the second floor through where they had been.

The Fire Truck 1 crew of Crescent City Fire arrived and after running a hose line, firefighters were able to beat down the flames enough to get access to the second floor. After fighting fires in the front and back bedrooms they discovered Di Silvestro and her son near the front window.

Anthony was removed from the apartment first. Di Silvestro had no vital signs at the scene, Knight wrote.

Both were transported in an ambulance, Di Silvestro receiving chest compressions. Di Silvestro was declared dead at Sutter Coast Hospital and Anthony was flown to a burn center in Portland, where he remains in stable but critical condition.

Di Silvestro, originally of Sacramento, lived in Crescent City for the last eight years, her aunt, Chris Tyron, said Tuesday.

"She was a great mother, very protective of that little boy," Tyron said. "He was her life."

Di Silvestro is survived by two other children who live in Oklahoma and a large extended family in Sacramento.

"There were 12 of us siblings," her aunt said tearfully.

The family hopes to eventually get Anthony moved to the burn unit at the Sacramento Shriners Children Hospital, Tyron said.

Di Silvestro's mother, Lina Tyron, said in a telephone interview from Portland that Anthony's lungs and inner organs were in good shape.

"He is still in the intensive care unit," she said. "They just put him on dialysis today."

Source: Sent in by reader - Original article link

LAFD - Structure fire - Civilian Fatality

Posted: 16 Jan 2009 10:30 AM CST

Civilian Fatality Fire
Locarion: 3856 S Redondo Bl, Crenshaw District
IA: Structure fire - one-story single family home well involved with fire.
TIME: Friday, January 16, 2009 1:03 AM
INCIDENT #: 0044

On Friday, January 16, 2009 at 1:03 AM, 9 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 4 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 5 Arson Units, 2 EMS Battalion Captains, 1 Battalion Chief Officer Command Team and 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 64 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel under the direction of Battalion Chief Ralph Ramirez, responded to a Civilian Fatality Structure Fire at 3856 South Redondo Boulevard in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles.

Firefighters arrived quickly to discover a critically burned woman outside, with reports that two of her family members remained trapped within the well-secured one-story single family home well involved with fire.

Teams of Los Angles Firefighters made swift forcible entry with hand and power tools, and then extended handlines to do battle with the well entrenched fire, as their colleagues scaled the roof of the 1,369 square-foot wood frame home to perform vertical ventilation.

While aggressively attacking the flames and seeking to rescue those in peril, firefighters discovered the lifeless bodies of an adult male and an adult female within the residence. Beyond medical help, they were declared deceased at the scene.

The burned woman, believed to be the spouse and mother of the deceased, sustained 2nd and 3rd degree burns to more than 60% of her body. In critical condition, she was treated by LAFD Paramedics, who transported her to Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center.

Two small pet canines were found uninjured by firefighters within the home, and were later placed in the care of the Department of Animal Services.

Firefighters determined smoke alarms were present in the home, but their functional status at the time of the blaze, and their role in alerting occupants, could not be immediately determined.

Though the 62 year-old building was fitted with legally compliant security bars and door screens, the presence of non-compliant double-cylinder deadbolt locks on all but one door, appears to have been a factor impairing egress.

The structure was not equipped with residential fire sprinklers.

Monetary loss from the fire is estimated at $200,000 ($150,000 structure & $50,000 contents).

A positive identification of the deceased, as well as the exact cause, time and manner of their deaths will be determined by the Coroner's Office.

The cause of this early morning blaze remains the focus of a joint active investigation by Los Angeles Police and Fire Department officials.

Source: LAFD News Blog: - Link

CAL FIRE MMU - New Unit Chief

Posted: 16 Jan 2009 10:16 AM CST

Dale A. Hutchinson has accepted appointment as the new Unit Chief of the Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit.

Dale has worked for CAL FIRE since 1983 promoting through all ranks. Dale has spent most of his career in the Riverside Unit, most recently as the Deputy Chief Western Operations.
Dale brings a diversified background in dealing with Schedule "A" and "B" operations inclusive of budgeting, labor issues, PCF programs, fire protection planning and fire ground operations to MM. U
Dale has served as an IC on CAL Fire ICT 7 since 2006 and been involved with ICT's for eight years.
Chief Hutchinson's appointment will be effective on February 2, 2009. Please join me in congratulating Chief Hutchinson on this well deserved promotion.