'He Was Long Beach': Slain Firefighter Remembered At Public Memorial
LONG BEACH (CBSLA) — Thousands of mourners paid their respects to a Long Beach firefighter who was shot and killed while responding to an explosion at a high-rise senior apartment building.
The memorial service for fire Capt. Dave Rosa started at 10 a.m. at the Long Beach Convention Center. Firefighters from as far as Toronto, Canada, traveled to Long Beach to pay their respects.
Rosa, 45, was remembered fondly by his friends and family as a loving father, an unabashed Dodgers fan in Angels country, and devoted to his community.
"His life's work is one of the last bastions of what is best about our country -- that ancient spirit of unconditional support," Rosa's pastor, Todd Rodarmel, said. "He did not hesitate. He did not seek out caveats or loopholes or excuses.
"He died the living definition of a hero."
Rosa is survived by his wife of 19 years, Lynley, his two sons, Alec, 26, and Sam, 15, his parents, Paul and Jean Rosa, and his sister, Julia Hensley. Alec spoke about getting the call from his mother that delivered the news that his father had been fatally shot while responding to an explosion.
"When you hear something like that, it doesn't really register at first," Alec Rosa said. "My dad's a fireman -- firemen are not supposed to get shot."
The aftermath of Rosa's death showed what an impact he made on the community of Long Beach during his life, Rosa's brother-in-law and a Carlsbad firefighter Chris Hensley said.
"At a candlelight vigil at Station 10 the night of the incident last, we witnessed how people loved him," Henley said. "Dave was hometown, he was Long Beach. It was evident by the amount of people that came from the neighborhood. He really loved helping people."
Firefighter Ernesto Torres, 35, and a civilian who lived in the building were also wounded in the shooting, but survived.
The suspect in the shooting, Thomas Man Kim, 77, was a resident of the building. He has since been charged with capital murder.
Rosa was a 17-year veteran of the Long Beach Fire Department. His last assignment was at Fire Station 10 in central Long Beach. Before that, he served as a training captain.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
