Fireman’s Death Focus of Dispute

Fire officials in Novato and the family of the late firefighter Steven Rucker are upset with inconsistencies in accounts of his death in last October’s firestorm in rural San Diego County.

Rucker, 38, was one of 11 firefighters from the Novato Fire Protection District in Marin County who helped battle the Cedar fire near Julian last fall. His was the first death for the agency since a chief had a fatal heart attack while responding to a fire more than 35 years ago.

As firefighters and Rucker’s family -- he left behind a wife and two children as well as his parents -- try to deal with the loss, they say they are unhappy with inaccurate reports coming out of San Diego County. Jeff Meston, fire chief of the Novato Fire Protection District, has even taken the unusual step of seeking to correct the coroner’s report detailing the events leading to Rucker’s death.

“Our issue really is [that] the medical examiner’s report is inaccurate,” Meston said.

The coroner’s report, which Meston said relied on information from other firefighters and a San Diego sheriff’s detective, said the crew of four Novato firefighters was running toward a building so they could deploy their emergency fire shelters, or tents. The report says Rucker tripped and fell on the patio and was overcome by flames while the others deployed their tents.

“When people deploy shelters they’re in the wild land in the middle of nowhere,” Meston said. “Why would you be in a quarter-inch foil shelter when you could have stucco siding and a roof over your head?”

He said his firefighters fled for the safety of the home, although Rucker was not able to make it because he was overcome by flames. Meston said Rucker fell three times and Capt. Doug McDonald, who sustained burns to 28% of his body, tried to save him but was unable to do so.

San Diego County Coroner’s Investigator Gretchen Geary, who wrote the report, did not return calls seeking comment. But Meston said she told him earlier this week that she could not identify the firefighters who provided the account. Meston said Geary has agreed to rewrite that part of the report.

Meston said Deputy Fire Chief Dan Northern spoke to Cathy Rucker, the widow of the firefighter, and “she’s not happy with it and wanted it fixed.”

“From the family’s perspective, they’re having to defend Steve’s capability,” he added.

Rucker joined the fire district as a firefighter and paramedic 11 years ago.

Fire officials also are concerned about another report indicating that Rucker might have been carrying a chain saw and other tools while he was trying to run for safety.

San Diego Sheriff’s Sgt. Conrad Grayson, who heads the department’s Bomb and Arson Unit, said his department’s report said it only surmised that Rucker dropped the chain saw when he was overtaken by the fire.

“The deceased was lying face down where he had tripped attempting to climb the cement stairs,” that report said. “He appears to have dropped his chain saw, several flares and [radio]. These items were found at arm’s length melted and destroyed from intense heat of the fire.”

Grayson insists that his department’s report is not wrong and that the department didn’t want “to take the hit” for any errors.

What particularly bothers the family and fire officials was a wire service story that said Rucker was running with his tools, something that firefighters are trained not to do. The wire service has since corrected that part of the story.

“She [Cathy Rucker] talked one-on-one with every one of the guys who was down there,” Meston said. “She has a picture in her mind about what occurred and now she’s hearing something different.”

Meston said Rucker would not have been carrying the chain saw. He said the firefighters had left it by the side of the house after using it earlier to cut brush.