Bev and Kelly and Dave:
I am sorry this took so long to get this my remembrance of Dave to you.
Dave has left me with so many memories of my time in the San Leandro fire department.
The first was my first day on the job. Dave was the first to come up, introduce himself to me and welcome me to the department. He told me I would like the San Leandro Fire Department and have a good career with it, as well as enjoy the comradery working with a group of men that would soon seem like family.
He indicated that the reason the department was hiring fire fighters now was the fact that they had recently purchased a new fire truck (the first Snorkle truck with a basket for tall building access and rescue) and needed firefighters to replace the ones promoted to engineer of which he was one who got promoted to drive this new apparatus.
My first fire was an apartment fire second alarm in which Dave responded with the new truck.
When station 2 (us) arrived, my first sight from the tail step of squad 2 was seeing Dave at the rear of the truck trying to physically push the basket up off its base, getting it in service. Evidently, the hydraulics failed and the basket would not lift. Fire fighters had to physically ladder the balconies to rescue trapped people trying to leave the area of the fire.
When on the next shift, we had a training area class meeting to critique the handling of the fire. The Battalion Chief asked Dave to discuss his truck problem. He explained his problem and said they had corrected it. I still remember him saying that at the time his only thought was that the snorkel would make a good anchor for one of our Navy’s battle ships.
My memories of Dave also linger with the 49ers. He invited me to purchase the spare season ticket he had. He also had a motor home to use for the games.
We would get to Candlestick Park at 10:00 in the morning and set up to watch the morning game and barbeque. He always had a chateaubriand steak for his little Weber charcoal barbecue. He would bring his homemade marinade secret sauce for it. One game, he forgot to bring his sauce so he marinated it with beer at the sight. Tasted pretty damn good even then. I always remember his question when it was ready: “You want slices or chunks”. When we were ready to go into the game, we would place the little closed Weber unit under the motorhome by the rear duals to cool off while in the game.
One of the greatest half times we had was when the San Franciso Fire department paraded their old, collectable antique equipment. I think it was a game to honor fire fighters. After the parade, they took a 40’ extension ladder to the middle of the field and did what we call an auditorium raise (which is straight up). It has a crew to help stabilize the base with outriggers and also two fire fighters on rope lines tied at the top of the last ladder fly. Once elevated, a fire fighter climbed to the very top and lowered an American Flag. We admired this so much that when we finally looked at each other we were enamored with this showing that he could see I had tears in my eyes for somehow being in a club with all these firefighters and especially the San Leandro Fire Department. We actually started the standing ovation in our section. Some around us even thanked us for the job we do. What a career to be involved in.
I will miss Dave terribly.
We decided not to follow the Niners with the season tickets to their new stadium though. And while at the last Candlestick game, someone had stolen the barbeque.
I will miss him terribly.
Someone once said at a memorial that his friend was not gone, and that the physical body really is a container for the true friends sole, heart and mind to reside and these incased within turn into a wonderful light that glows and is always with the ones who knew and loved him, and that will always keep his memory alive in their lives.
That is how I feel about my friend Dave Cameron.
Floyd Nabonne
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