MURRIETA -- Being the sons, nephews and grandsons of firefighters, it was only natural that the Moore brothers would rope themselves into the same career.

Mark Moore, 46, was the first hired in Murrieta 18 years ago. Matt, 43, followed the next year. They worked through the ranks, were promoted to captain and, until Matt was hospitalized in December, worked the same shift, Matt at Station 1, Mark at Station 2.

They often combated blazes together, as they worked the same hours and shared calls for assistance.

Now that Mark can't do anything to stop the destructive illness in his brother's brain, he is helping in another way -- by raising money for his sister-in-law, niece and nephews while they wait to see if their dad will live.

"We're on a different engine, but we're at the same fire," Mark said.

Capt. Matt Moore remains in a vegetative state from a coma he slipped into late last week stemming from parasitic meningitis. His older brother said Matt's condition is believed to be in a state of arrest, but his body must now battle pneumonia.

On Saturday, the Murrieta Fire Auxiliary is hosting a pancake breakfast fundraiser at Giovanni's Restaurant, 25145 Madison Ave., to raise money for Matt's wife, Sherry, and three children, Alyssa, 16, Trent and Brandon, both 13.

"Trent was worried his dad wasn't going to be able to mentor him and get him into the department," Mark said of his nephew, who also wants to follow the family tradition of firefighting. "It was pretty heartbreaking to hear."

While Matt is said to be the funnier of the two and an exceptional mentor who helped countless youths join the fire department, the parallels between the two brothers aren't subtle.

Both are captains with the Murrieta Fire Department. Both ride motorcycles. Both put their faith in God and love their families above all else. Both have best friends named Mike. Both risk their lives to save others.

And both have been exposed to something that could have caused meningitis. The difference was that Mark somehow avoided coming down with the disease, possibly by taking antibiotics. Matt was not as lucky.

"You could get burned, have a building collapse on you," Mark said in an interview at Fire Station 2 on Thursday. "But to have something as rare as this seems -- I don't know what the word is -- strange."

More than three months after Matt was first hospitalized for an obscure form of meningitis, Mark said his brother's doctors still don't know how he contracted it. The best guess is that Matt inhaled a parasite in the Santa Ana winds while fighting wildfires.

In December, Matt was hospitalized. Despite having made progress, Matt's condition worsened when he caught pneumonia and slipped into a coma last week at UC San Diego's Hillcrest Medical Center in San Diego.

Caused by a bacterium, virus, parasite or fungus, meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes in the nervous system called meninges.

Mark, too, had twice been contacted by hospital officials who wrote him a prescription for antibiotics after doctors discovered someone the firefighter had provided emergency assistance to was a carrier. But it wasn't until his brother was diagnosed that Moore began researching how and why meningitis happens.

"I know more about this than I ever wanted to," Mark said. "We keep thinking that God's going to do a miracle because the doctors right now aren't painting a very optimistic picture of it."

Contact staff writer Nelsy Rodriguez at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or nrodriguez@californian.com.

Breakfast Fundraiser

The Murrieta Fire Auxiliary is hosting a pancake breakfast to raise money for the family of Murrieta Fire Capt. Matt Moore, who is battling an obscure form of meningitis and is in a coma.

- When: 7 to 9 a.m. Saturday.

- Where: Giovanni's restaurant, 25145 Madison Ave., Murrieta

- How to donate: The Murrieta International Association of Firefighters has set up a fund to benefit Moore's family. To make a donation to the Matt Moore Family Fund, contact Natalie Martinez at Wells Fargo, 41232 Murrieta Hot Springs Road, or call the association's president, Capt. Mike Ramos, at (951) 970-5712.