The San Francisco Fire Department is holding a ceremony this weekend to mark the one-year anniversary of the fire in the city’s Diamond Heights neighborhood that killed two firefighters.
The ceremony will take place Saturday in honor of Lt. Vincent Perez, 48, and Firefighter-Paramedic Anthony Valerio, 53, who were killed in a house fire at 133 Berkeley Way on June 2, 2011.
Fire officials said the deaths of the two men were caused by a flashover, a sudden flare up of heat caused when a window at the home shattered, sending a rush of oxygen to the flames.
Perez died at San Francisco General Hospital later that day, while Valerio succumbed to his injuries two days later.
The two men will be honored Saturday in a ceremony at the fire station where they both worked, Station 26 at 80 Digby St., Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said.
All of the department’s off-duty personnel and members of the public have been invited to the memorial, which will start at 10:30 a.m.
The ceremony will start with the dedication of a plaque at the station to honor the men, as well as a memorial garden there that was paid for by local businesses, fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge.
The men will then be honored with a moment of silence at 10:58 a.m., which is around when they were found inside the home, Hayes-White said.
The event will finish with a community BBQ at the nearby Walter Haas Park.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
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