Firefighters Award 2 Scholarships

The Ventura County firefighters union has chosen two college students to receive $1,000 scholarships Friday in the name of U.S. Navy firefighter Shane Kilgore, who died in a naval ship fire in 1990.

Michael Hartley, 20, of Newbury Park, a criminal justice major at Moorpark College who plans to transfer this fall to Cal Lutheran University, will be given one of the Kilgore scholarships. He is the son of Ventura County Fire Capt. Bill Hartley.

Carrie Sitton, 26, of Manila, Calif., a sports medicine major at Humboldt State, will receive the other scholarship. She is the daughter of Ventura County Fire Capt. Charlie Sitton.

The scholarships are given in memory of Kilgore, a Simi Valley man who studied fire science at Moorpark College. Union officials said Kilgore joined the Navy hoping to gain experience that would help him become a civilian firefighter.

After graduating at the top of his class from the Navy’s Damage Control Training School, Kilgore shipped out aboard the aircraft carrier Midway.

On June 20, 1990, a fire broke out as the ship ran flight exercises about 125 miles off the coast of Yokosuka, Japan.

Kilgore was fatally injured in a fiery explosion after saving the lives of some of his crew mates, union officials said. He was buried with full military honors and was posthumously awarded the Navy Commendation medal.

Union officials will present this year’s scholarships at 1 p.m. Friday at Simi Valley City Hall, 2929 Tapo Canyon Road. The public is invited.

The scholarships are open to anyone interested in becoming a firefighter and to the relatives of firefighters. For more information, call the Ventura County Professional Firefighters Assn. at (805) 484-8844.