Firefighter Killed in Motorcycle Crash

An off-duty Pasadena firefighter was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle in a weekend accident in Tarzana as two of his co-workers looked on, officials said.

James Brown was pronounced dead at the scene about 8 p.m. Sunday after the motorcycle he was riding crashed on Ventura Boulevard near Etiwanda Avenue, a Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman said.

Brown, an 11-year veteran assigned to a fire station in northwestern Pasadena, was riding with two fellow firefighters on Sunday evening, Assistant Chief Calvin Wells said. Following the crash, the other men, both licensed paramedics, attempted to revive Brown with CPR, Wells said.

“James was very popular among the rank and file,” Wells said. “Like all of us, he was involved in all of our major fires, like the 1993 firestorms. It’s a hard pill to swallow either way, for the firefighters and the community.”

Wells said the Fire Department has brought in counselors to console Brown’s grieving co-workers.