25-year-old Oakland firefighter drowns at San Diego beach
Laffan was a third-generation firefighter and his father was Oakland's assistant fire chief, who died of a heart attack on duty.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KGO) -- A third-generation Oakland firefighter has drowned off a San Diego beach, fire officials say. He's been identified as 25-year-old Caeden Laffan.
San Diego police say they responded to a report of a lost swimmer at Pacific Beach near Crystal Pier just before 2 a.m. Thursday.
They searched the area but couldn't find him. About two hours later at 4:15 a.m., a body washed up.
Laffan's flag-draped body was taken off the beach as first responders formed a procession.
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Fire stations across Oakland have put up flags Thursday morning to honor Laffan, who was based at Fire Station 3 on 14th St. Some firefighters learned about the death while they were on the scene of a massive warehouse fire.
He was visiting San Diego with family and several other Oakland firefighters for the California Firefighter Summer Games.
Fire stations across Oakland have put up flags Thursday morning to honor Laffan, who was based at Fire Station 3 on 14th St.
"We're all devastated, there's no other way to take it," Damon Covington, the Oakland Fire Chief said. "Caeden was a rising star, very sharp individual, we had big plans for him, for his future so it's extremely tragic."
His family is deeply embedded in the Oakland Fire Department.
His father was Oakland's Assistant Fire Chief Sean Laffan. The 42-year-old died of a heart attack in the line of duty back in 2020.
"Caeden wanted to follow in his footsteps, Caeden's brother Cooper is in our recruit academy currently and his mother Sabrina is one of our peer support outreach specialists," Covington said. "They've suffered such great loss, it's almost incomprehensible how much loss you can suffer and still remain standing."
Those with the Oakland Firefighters Union, IAFF Local 55, are keeping their hearts and doors open at their office on 15th Street.
They are making peer support outreach specialists available to any member of the firefighting family.
This, after many of his colleagues learned of his passing while fighting a warehouse fire overnight.
"We're certainly not going to try to figure it out on our own," he said. "We're going to lean on each other."
The love for Caeden, echoed by administrators from Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento.
He graduated there in 2017 and was a star athlete, playing both football and baseball.
"My heart breaks for his amazing family," Kristen McCarthy, Director of Admissions and Communications at Christian Brothers High School said.
Kristen McCarthy got to know him while working in admissions.
"At Christian Brothers, our motto is 'enter to learn, leave to serve' and I think that if there was ever a young man who was destined to serve, it's Caeden," she said.
Meanwhile, Chief Covington says he will be traveling to San Diego to help bring Caeden home.
Chief Colin Stowell of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department made the difficult call to Chief Covington.
"All the fire service members it doesn't matter what agency, they're part of our family," Stowell said. "So I knew from our own experience having been through tragic accidents like this. I reached out to him and expressed my condolences. But also made sure that he knew that we'd take care of his member just like one of our members down here."
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao released the following statement:
"I am deeply saddened by the news of Oakland Firefighter-Paramedic Caeden Laffan's tragic passing. My heart goes out to the Laffan family as I join them, our Oakland Fire Department, and our city in grieving the loss of an exemplary young man who helped keep our communities safe."
