Thousands gathered Monday at a Westlake Village church to say goodbye to Ryan Osler, the first Ventura County firefighter in 25 years to die in the line of duty.
Under blue skies, mourners filed into Calvary Community Church, where the U.S. flag flapped in the breeze at half-staff, and bagpipers dressed in kilts played a plaintive dirge.
Those attending funeral services for the fallen firefighter represented a mix of people touched by Osler’s death.
There were relatives and co-workers and firefighters dressed in crisp uniforms from departments all over the state and country.
There were individuals who never met Osler but were eager to pay their respects to someone who risked, and lost, his life to protect them.
Mike Hammer, a friend of the Osler family, said Jennifer Osler and their two children were grateful for all the support they have received from the community.
He spoke outside the church before services began.
“There are so many people to thank. People who have never met him but donated food and money,” he said. “There’s been so much support during this difficult time.”
Hammer read some prepared notes from Jennifer.
“Ryan loved his job, but his true love and greatest joy were his children, Amanda and Brandon,” Hammer said. “He loved driving all over Southern California to watch Brandon play baseball. He loved to watch Amanda sing in her recitals.
“He was just a phenomenal dad. He loved music,” he added.
The weekend before he died, Ryan Osler had taken Jennifer to a Garth Brooks concert, Hammer said. The song she posted from the concert was “If Tomorrow Never Comes.”
Shortly after Hammer gave his comments, Jennifer Osler and children Amanda and Brandon arrived for the memorial service.
Ryan Osler 38, who worked out of Station No. 42 in Moorpark, died Sept. 21 when the water tender he was riding in rolled over on Highway 246 outside Lompoc.
The 18-year veteran of the Ventura County Fire Department and another firefighter, who was driving, were en route to assist at a fire on Vandenberg Air Force Base.
April Guerrero, office manager with the Ventura County Professional Firefighters Association, attended the funeral even though she had never met Osler.
“Although we work at the union, we’re still really plugged into the culture. It still feels like family. We are mourning the loss of a family member,” she said.
About two dozen members of the patriot guard riders zoomed into the church parking lot on their motorcycles, flags wrestling in the wind.
Usually the group — a national organization with local chapters — attends military funerals, but they also go to those for police officers and firefighters who have died in the line of duty, said Mike Abraham, a member from Thousand Oaks.
“We are just here to pay our respects to fallen firefighter Ryan Osler,” said Abraham whose son is a firefighter and emergency medical technician. “And to show the family that there’s public support and to show the firefighters that there’s public support.
“We feel honored to be here to honor him,” Abraham said.
“It breaks your heart that these people are out there protecting our property, protecting our lives. And then something happens,” he said. “It makes you think how precious everything is.”
Dave Latham, a captain with Calfire San Luis Obispo, attended the service with other firefighters from his area.
“I feel a little sad, a little overwhelmed,” said Latham, wearing his black dress uniform, a crisp cap on his head. “It’s a fellow firefighter, a fellow brother that put his life on the line to serve the public. We all do that, and we all assume that risk.
“And so when one of us does make that sacrifice, we all try to come out and support the family, because our families would appreciate the same if something happened to us,” the fire captain said.
Authorities have not released the name of the other firefighter, who was injured but survived, nor have they determined what caused the accident, which occurred at a traffic circle on the highway.
Osler’s father, Ralph Osler, who died in 2002, worked for the Ventura County Fire Department for more than 20 years. Ralph Osler inspired his son to be a firefighter, a relative said.
Amanda Covarrubias is a reporter with the Ventura County Star. Contact her at amanda.covarrubias@vcstar.com or 805.437.0218.
