Graduating fire academy class dedicates training to fallen firefighter

By: SARAH WILKINS - Staff Writer | Tuesday, November 21, 2006 1:21 AM PST ∞

SAN MARCOS -- Recruits in Palomar College's 30th Basic Fire Academy knew they had to do something when they first heard about the Esperanza fire that left five firefighters dead.

On Monday night, in front of hundreds of friends and family members in a ceremony at Mission Hills High School, the fire academy graduates presented a check for $21,000 to the wife and children of Capt. Mark Loutzenhiser, who died fighting the blaze.

A tearful Maria Loutzenhiser accepted the check on behalf of her family, but did not speak at the event.

The recruits first learned of the Esperanza fire when smoke began wafting over the area where Academy 30 trained on Oct. 26. The group of firefighter trainees grew anxious to take part in battling the Riverside County blaze that would grow to consume more than 40,000 acres.

However, soon news began trickling in that flames overcame a group of U.S. Forest Service firefighters. Over the next week, all five died.

"We were out there doing our training, we could see the smoke and thought it looked like a great place to be," said recruit Joriel Santa Maria, 28, of Oceanside. "Then we found out what happened and it got pretty somber."

Academy 30 decided to dedicate the remainder of its class to Louteznhiser's family. On Monday night, 38 recruits graduated from the academy.

"When we first heard the firefighters were killed, we were not sure what happened," said recruit Keith Albright, 25, of Vista. "As we got details, that he had a wife and five kids, there wasn't one person that didn't want to do everything we could. We said the family is definitely getting our help any way we could."

The money, raised through donations and two car washes held by recruits in November, will be dedicated to the Loutzenhiser Remodel Fund through Habitat for Humanity, which will allow the family to finish a home remodel it had begun before the fire.

"The first car wash, we had 150 cars and the second one there were about 200 cars," said Capt. Pete Montgomery, the fire academy supervisor. "A lot of people wanted to talk to us, some did not even need a car wash, they just wanted to give."

It is routine for academies, which are held twice yearly, to dedicate their training to a cause of their choice, Montgomery said. However, classes usually raise money to purchase something such as training equipment for subsequent classes, and this is the first time fundraising has been done for a fallen firefighter.

"That's what made this so special," Montgomery said. "This is their gift, they approached us."

The graduation ceremony capped off 13 weeks of grueling training marked by getting up before dawn to douse fires, sitting through in-class training, climbing 100-foot ladders, and hundreds ---- if not thousands ---- of push-ups.

"There's really no word to place on the feeling, it's so demanding and intense," academy leader John Choi said. "Mentally and physically, it's really demanding to go through the daily grind while (getting up early) and beating the sun."

But it's worth it, said Choi, a 24-year-old former Marine from San Marcos.

"We're not just here to do whatever, we're here to help other people and set ourselves apart. Each one here has done that."

-- Contact staff writer Sarah Wilkins at (760) 761-4414 or swilkins@nctimes.com.

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