Please join Santa Barbara city firefighters past and present for a ceremony honoring the life of Thomas Glen Fernandes at noon this Sunday, April 29.
The ceremony will take place in the Firescape Garden directly across the street from Station 7, 2411 Stanwood Drive. A commemorative plaque will be unveiled in the garden recognizing Fernandes’ accomplishments as a firefighter and as a key player in the planning and implementing of the Firescape Garden.
Fernandes was born on Nov. 1, 1949, in Lynwood. He graduated from William Howard Taft High School in 1968 and attended Pierce College from 1968 to 1969.
When not in school, Fernandes worked in the Hazard Abatement Section for Los Angeles County Fire in the summers of 1968-1973. The Santa Barbara City Fire Department hired him on Aug. 16, 1973.
Early in his career, Fernandes worked at Station 1 and Station 4 as a firefighter before being promoted to the rank of engineer on March 22, 1980, were he transferred to Station 7 for the remainder of his career.
Fernandes was committed not only to the citizens of Santa Barbara but also the citizens of our country taking three separate leave of absences for the Air National Guard in years 1974 and 1975.
He went off duty in September 1985 and tragically lost his battle with job-related cancer only a short time later on Dec. 18, 1985.
Fernandes is survived by his wife, Diane Kriger, and three children, Jason, Ashley, and Matt. Jason Fernandes has followed in his father’s footsteps, recently being hired by the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.
— Ryan DiGuilio is an inspector/investigator for the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.
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