James “Jimmy” E. Howe

His colleagues at the Engine 9 firehouse called him the “Tasmanian Devil,” because when Engineer James Howe fought a fire, he really fought. “He was very aggressive, highly motivated,” noted Los Angeles County Fire Chief Mike Freeman. “He would be completely covered with soot,” said Los Angeles County Assistant Fire Chief Jim Ryland. “He had the results of the fire on him–and at the end, there would always be a smile on his face.”

With 22 years in the department and three commendations for valor and public service, the 47-year-old Newhall resident had enough seniority to opt for one of the less-active fire stations. But that was not for the gung-ho “Tas.” Despite having to commute an hour in his beat-up Datsun pickup truck to his station in South-Central Los Angeles, Howe was proud to remain in the busiest unit–Battalion 13.

Investigators have ruled that the fire was an arson and that his death was a homicide.

Howe, who drove the engine, was one of six county firefighters injured January 9th when an overhanging roof façade collapsed on them as they scrambled across a second-floor balcony of a burning mini-mall. He was pinned under the collapsed roof for about 20 minutes, within a few feet of the flames.

Howe began his firefighting career in 1968 after serving two years as a military policeman in Vietnam. He became the kind of firefighter who would storm into a smoky bedroom in a burning apartment and carry out an unconscious 7-year-old boy. He received his first commendation for that rescue, accomplished on April 29, 1975.

He was the kind of firefighter who would spot a teenage gang member taking a bike from a 11-year-old deaf-mute boy outside the firehouse, call the Sheriffs and hold the gang member until deputies arrived. He received a second commendation for that, on April 13, 1982.