Firefighter killed in Arizona died ‘doing what he truly enjoyed’

Los Angeles County fire Chief Daryl Osby held back tears Monday afternoon as he remembered 21-year-old Kevin Woyjeck, one of 19 Granite Mountain hotshot crew members killed Sunday in an Arizona wildfire.

Osby spoke at a news conference outside the Orange County Fire Authority station in Seal Beach, where Woyjeck was raised. Other dignitaries gathered at the station to pay tribute to the young firefighter.

“It truly breaks my heart that I stand here and speak on behalf of my profession and my department, and on behalf of the Woyjeck family,” Osby said. “But I also have solace in knowing that Kevin was doing what he truly enjoyed, and that was being a firefighter.”

Osby said it was apparent from the start that Woyjeck would follow in his father’s footsteps.

As a child, Woyjeck would go on ride-alongs and hang out with firefighters. And when his father, Joe Woyjeck, currently a fire captain with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, served as president and vice president at the local firefighter museum, it was common to see the boy working with his dad there.

According to Osby, Kevin Woyjeck was born on Sept. 5, 1991. He has two siblings, a 19-year-old brother and a 16-year-old sister.

At 16 he became a Fire Explorer in the L.A. County Fire Department’s mentorship and training program.

“He worked real hard in that program, and as he got older he mentored other kids that came in the program,” Osby said.

Woyjeck graduated from Los Alamitos High School in June 2010 and immediately enrolled in an advance program in Long Beach to become a certified paramedic.

By the end of that July he had completed the program. He joined CARE ambulance services in August, according to Bill Weston, director of operations.

Weston said Woyjeck was fun to be around and known as a bit of a prankster.

“In 21 years, he got a lot of life in,” Weston said.

Osby said Woyjeck graduated from a fire academy at El Camino College before getting his first job as a hotshot crew member in South Dakota. He joined the Granite Mountain hotshot crew in April.

“Nothing came between Kevin and his pursuit to become a firefighter with the Los Angeles County Fire Department,” Osby said. “Kevin made the ultimate sacrifice, as did his other team members in this tragic event.”

He added: “We will continue to be inspired by his heroism and selfless acts by Kevin and these members of his team.”

[For the Record, 9:26 a.m. PDT July 2: A previous version of this post stated that Kevin Woyjeck’s father is with the Los Angeles Fire Department. He is with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.]

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