Hundreds Of Firefighters Turn Out To Honor Fallen Comrade

With his firefighting gear piled near his flag-draped casket, and a surfboard and guitar nearby, hundreds of firefighters turned out Friday afternoon in Murrieta to pay last their last respects to fallen Cal Fire comrade Christopher “Toph” Douglas.

“We’re not celebrating – we’re honoring Chris today,” said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mark Williams.

Williams oversaw Douglas, a 41-year-old Temecula resident who served as a fire apparatus engineer/paramedic in Thousand Palms.

“Chris was a blessing to have in Station #35,” Williams said.

Friday’s nearly two-hour long service at The Bridge Church was emotional. Stoic firefighters from across the Southland representing nearly all cities and counties wiped tears as stories about Douglas were told and happy images of he and his young family rolled across large screens inside the church’s filled-to-capacity auditorium.

According to fellow firefighters, friends, and family, Douglas was full of life and lived it to its fullest. He was a husband, a father, a brother, a son, and a firefighter. His heart, his casual but hardworking character, and his smile, were some of his greatest attributes, they said.

“Before him, I was a mere spectator in life,” Douglas’s wife Amy wrote in a letter read aloud Friday by Cal Fire Deputy Chief Dorian Cooley.

Married for six years to Douglas, Amy said she knew she had to share her husband with the world because of his love of public service.

Sometimes choking with emotion, Cooley continued reading Amy’s words. “He will never be forgotten and will be forever loved.”

The Douglas’s have a son Samuel, 2, and a baby on the way. Chief Cooley said he still has the text message from Chris sent a few weeks ago, telling news of the pregnancy. Trying to recall the exact words, Cooley said the text read, “What has two thumbs and is going to have a baby?”

The two men spoke that same night on the phone.

“He was pumped,” Cooley said. “Yes, Chris was one of my favorites.”

Dale Price served in the Air Force with Douglas and the two remained best friends. During Friday’s service, Price played a July 4 voicemail message he received from his buddy – the day before his tragic death. Douglas wished Price a happy Independence Day and closed with, “Miss you and love you.”

Price was Douglas’s best man at his wedding. “I miss my friend. When the sun is just right and the wind is just right … I’ll feel his hand on my shoulder … ,” he said.

Cal Fire Chief John Hawkins said Douglas was destined to be a captain some day. He was a “dirty-faced, hardworking” firefighter, and he was a leader, the chief said -- the kind of colleague every first-responder wants by his or her side on a call.

“Everyone knew Chris always had heart,” he added.

Williams recalled a particularly treacherous fire training exercise in Beaumont. The wind was blowing hard and there were concerns about safety.

Douglas reassured his boss.

“He gave me that shit-eating grin with two thumbs up [and said] ‘I’ve got you covered,’” Williams remembered.

Although there were light-hearted moments during Friday’s service, recalling Chris’s love of surfing and guitar, there was also tradition in the form of Line of Duty Death fire service honors that featured the Cal Fire Color Guard, Air Force personnel and bag pipes.

The last call for Douglas was sent out on the dispatch radio for all first responders to hear. Through the radio crackle of Cal Fire spokeswoman Jody Hagemann’s announcement, emotion flooded the auditorium.

In his final words before “Taps” was played and flag presentations were made, Cal Fire Chaplain Brent Sharick reminded the audience of the man he believed Douglas to be.

“The ocean was Christopher’s church,” he said. “He had a passion for every role he played in his life.”