A young California firefighter drowned in the Pacific Ocean this week – just four years after his firefighter dad died suddenly on the job.
Oakland firefighter Caeden Laffan, 25, died around 2 a.m. Thursday off the north side of the Pacific Pier south of La Jolla, San Diego Fire Chief Colin Stowell told KTVU.
The San Diego Police Department was called to the scene around 1:56 a.m., and the San Diego Lifeguards and US Coast Guard started searching the area a short time later.
Laffan’s body was recovered around 4:15 a.m., KUSI reported.
Laffan – who was in San Diego for the California Summer Firefighter Games – was swimming with a friend at the time of his death, the outlet said.
He had been on the shore with friends and family member before he waded into chest to waist deep water, took a few strokes, and vanished.
There may have been alcohol involved, officials added.
“We searched for a couple of hours with a rescue boat, land units, and a Coast Guard helicopter,” San Diego Fire-Rescue Lt. Rick Romero told KTVU.
“We weren’t able to locate him. We were doing our last patrol on the shoreline, and our lifeguard sergeant spotted him. He had washed onto the beach on the north side of the pier. Unfortunately, incidents happen. And it’s just a sad story.”
Laffan graduated from Oakland’s Recruit Academy in 2019, his home fire station said.
“Caeden Laffan was a young enthusiastic member of the Oakland Fire Department, with a bright future ahead of him, and we’re all heartbroken today after learning of this tragic event,” Oakland Fire Chief Damon Covington said in a press release.
“Our hearts go out to the entire Laffan family, and all who know him, worked with him, and loved him.”
Laffan’s dad, Sean Laffan, was also an Oakland firefighter.
The elder Laffan was an assistant fire chief who died from a heart attack while on duty in November 2020.
He was 42 years old.
“I knew I wanted to be an Oakland firefighter because of my dad. He inspired me the second, I got out of high school to pursue my EMT and paramedic license,” Caeden Laffen told KTVU in 2020 of his plans to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“We had about 10 years we could have worked together in the fire department. It got cut short to a year but I loved every second of it that’s for sure.”
