Our fallen hero

On Saturday, August 21, 2004 at 8:00 PM, Engine 28 responded to Box 1249, Belgrade and Venago Streets. The address was 3630 Belgrade Street. When crews arrived, they found smoke coming from a two-story row house that was 15’ x 35’. They discovered that the fire was in the basement, and began firefighting operations.

While attacking the fire, a flashover occurred. Captain John Taylor ordered the men out of the basement. While exiting the basement, Firefighter Rubio’s air pack became entangled in wires that had been hanging from the ceiling. As Captain Taylor tried to free Firefighter Rubio from the wires, both men ran low of air.

Captain Taylor called a ‘Mayday’ on the radio and continued trying to free Firefighter Rubio. When other firefighters reached them, they were unresponsive. Because of the entanglement, it took rescuers several minutes to free them. They were taken to the hospital where efforts to revive them failed.

The house was owned by Daniel Brough. He was using the basement to grow marijuana. The wires for the fans and lights were suspended from the ceiling. During the fire these wires fell, causing Firefighter Rubio to become entangled.

Mr. Brough was charged and convicted of manslaughter. As a result, he was sentenced to 15 months to 4 years in jail.