SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Retired Sacramento Metro Fire Captain Randy Gross is one of the first firefighters in our region to die of job related cancer caused by assisting in search and rescue efforts after 9/11.
Current Captain Parker Wilbourn worked with him for six years and said he was "one of those kind of guys that always had a smile on his face, always had a great attitude. You just knew you were in good hands when he was around."
Gross started his career as a volunteer with El Dorado Hills Fire Department, then worked for the Sacramento County Fire Protection District before finishing his career as a member and captain of Sacramento Metro Fire after 27 years.
He loved rugby and helped a high school in El Dorado Hills form their team.
Fellow firefighters say his commitment to service and community extended well beyond the Sacramento area.
"He was one of three founding members of the Urban Search and Rescue team that deployed to New York after 9/11," said Wilbourn.
Hours after the Twin Towers fell Sept. 11, 2001, Gross— along with members of FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue Team Task Force 7 — flew from Sacramento to New York City to help.
He and his canine partner Dusty went right to work on ground zero, searching for survivors.
He was diagnosed with job related cancer 20 years later. Doctors said it was because of what he was exposed to at ground zero during the rescue efforts.
"Metro Fire continues to be devastated by job related cancer. We’ve had three fire fighters in the last six months that have passed away from job related cancer, including one of our own Captain Randy Gross," said Wilbourn.
Gross became one of the hundreds of first responders who died from 9/11 related illnesses Sunday.
Brian K. Rice is the President of the California Professional Firefighters Association and says cancer is plaguing firefighters.
"It’s not a question of if you get cancer but when," said Rice.
To honor Gross and other brave firefighters, the California Fire Foundation broke ground Wednesday to expand the firefighter’s memorial at the state capitol.
There were 855 names etched on the memorial when it was unveiled 22 years ago, but now there are 1,527.
With expansion, there will be room for 4,600 names.
"I was here 22 years ago for the dedication and unveiling. I never thought that I’d be standing here today talking about an expansion," said Rice. "There's never going to be a year that we don’t add a firefighters name to this wall."
A memorial wall soon to have "Captain Randy Gross, Sacramento Metro Fire" etched on it.
Gross and his dog Dusty also assisted with recovery efforts during hurricane Katrina.
