A memorial service for Andrew Pontius (52), a firefighter who served with the Los Angeles County Fire Department for 19 years, was held at Cottonwood Church in Alamitos, Los Angeles on Saturday, June 29th, where family, friends and fellow firefighters mourned him. (Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Fire Department)
Dave Pontius stood at the podium at Cottonwood Church in Alamitos, Los Angeles on Saturday and unknowingly told off about himself and his brother Andrew as they reminisced about their childhoods during a memorial service for the veteran firefighter.
He recalled one summer hunting rattlesnakes in the Claremont hills with pellet guns, despite their parents telling them they couldn’t have guns. The brothers, who were about 9 and 10 years old, got guns anyway, with help from an 18-year-old friend.
“We put it in a box and buried it in the backyard,” Dave Pontious said, “and our parents didn’t know. We took the gun and went to kill a rattlesnake.”
“My brother always did the butchering. He would cut up the rattles for us and we thought that was the best thing to do.”
After Dave Pontious walked off stage, presiding fire chaplain Vince Roldan joked that Pontious’ father had texted Roldan.
Family, friends and fellow firefighters gathered to remember Andrew Pontius, 52, who served with the Los Angeles County Fire Department for 19 years, after he was killed on June 14 when part of a burning front loader exploded at a quarry in Little Rock.
He is survived by his wife, Kim, stepdaughter Sarah, parents Gary and Ellie, and brother Dave, a retired captain with the county fire department.
Andrew Pontius, better known as Drew and nicknamed “Uncle” is remembered as a leader who always led by example and was the last to get off the roof even when the temperature was 110 degrees. During his time with the Fire Department, he served at the El Monte, Rosemead, San Fernando and Palmdale stations.
Outside of work, he is remembered as an outdoors and wildlife enthusiast, who loved to cook and became an accomplished hunter “who made sure he ate what he hunted,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said.
Dave Pontious said that when he and his friends were growing up, they would often play rescue games, casting his younger brother as the victim, weighting him down into the deep end of a swimming pool or tying him to a tree with nylon wire and rope before rushing to his rescue.
“He’s always been a good sportsman and just went along with it,” Dave Pontius said. “He got bruises and cuts, but he never complained.”
Pontius, who earned a bachelor’s degree in wildlife management from Humboldt State University, worked as a barred owl spotter for a timber company in Arcata, climbing trees and making owl-like noises to keep loggers away from the birds’ habitat, said Dave Girotte, fire chief and president of Los Angeles County Fire Department Local 1014.
Los Angeles County Firefighter Andrew Pontius, who died in the crash (Photo via GoFundMe)
“He came home and told us this story,” Dave Pontious said. “It was like something out of a Hollywood movie.”
According to Dave Pontious, the stories included encounters with bears and mountain lions, “straying onto Native American land and being chased by Native Americans in a pickup truck with a gun,” and being swept away into the Trinity River only to be pulled out and discover the decomposing body of “a known serial killer.”
But soon after, Dave recalled a phone call from Drew saying it was time for a career change and he was “ready to try something different.”
Thus began his career as a firefighter.
According to Fire Chief Marrone, he was trained by Dave and his team at Fire Station 16. He was told to work hard and keep his mouth shut, but after eating pesto pasta made with pine nuts with the team despite having a nut allergy, he found it difficult to keep his mouth shut.
“Andy ate it and sat there quietly, never complaining, until finally he had to tell the captain he was having trouble breathing and had to go to the hospital,” Marrone said. “He’s a really tough guy.”
Dave Pontious recalled asking his brother, “Are you sure you want to do this?” after helping a stabbing victim during a call.
“Yeah, sure,” Andrew replied, his brother said.
Andrew Poncious was “the epitome of a true public servant” throughout his career, Marrone said, describing the fallen firefighter as compassionate, selfless, brave and highly respected.
But he was also a romantic, Marrone said, adding that Andrew Poncious surprised his wife with an engagement ring on the end of a fishing line during a fishing trip and then proposed to her.
“Putting your loved ones first was easy for Andy,” said Nino Vanillo, a former firefighter who worked at the fire station where Andrew Pontius began his firefighting career.
“Andy tried to teach me patience, but I haven’t mastered it yet,” Vanillo said. “Andy improved my life and the lives of so many people in so many ways, and I will miss him so much.”
Friends and family said Andrew Poncious also loved rescuing animals and helped rescue dogs, kittens and birds on multiple occasions.
One of the last times the brothers rode bikes backwards together was while they were fighting the Bobcat Fire, Dave Pontious said, adding that Andy was always looking out for him, asking if he was OK and if his back was OK.
“We were all exhausted. He said, ‘Dave, lie down,'” Dave Pontius recalled. “I lay down, and he lay down right next to me. That was the last time we ever fought a fire together. He lay down next to me.”
The moment was photographed by a fellow firefighter and displayed at the church.
Andrew Pontious is also remembered as a loyal man who maintained friendships with colleagues in high school, college, on hunting trips and even in retirement.
“I’m going to miss him. I’m going to miss him so much, but I can talk to him wherever I go,” Dave Pontius said. “He was a man of faith. I’m not going to question where God puts the period.”