Firefighter killed in rescue attempt

April 8, 1935: As torrential rain flooded parts of Los Angeles, Fire Capt. Fred W. Toenjes, 36, drowned after he was swept from a wrecked bridge at Sawtelle Boulevard and Westminster Avenue. He and two other firefighters had been trying to rescue four people, The Times reported. One account said Toenjes was “hit by a floating garage while attempting to reach a stranded car.” The Times later called him “A Peace Hero.” “In the dark, in the storm, by an accident unforeseen, impossible to guard against, the brave captain was carried to his death in a struggle with the rushing waters from which his two companions escaped only by a feat of desperate swimming.... He gave his life for others and added fresh luster to those soldiers of peace who, in facing fire or flood, have won the well-earned reputation -- never to falter at the post of duty.” Toenjes, who left a widow and two sons, was buried in the Masonic section of Forest Lawn.