Ontario memorial service honors Cal Fire Captain Tim Rodriguez, 1 of 3 firefighters killed in Cabazon helicopter crash

Cal Fire Captain Tim Rodriguez was honored in a memorial service, the 1st of 3 honoring firefighters killed in an Inland Empire helicopter crash.

ONTARIO, Calif. (KABC) -- The first of three memorial services was held Monday for the firefighters who died in a helicopter crash earlier this month while fighting a fire in Cabazon.

The Ontario Convention Center filled with people honoring Fire Captain Tim Rodriguez.
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The 19-year veteran with Cal Fire leaves behind a wife and three children.

Rodriguez was 44 years old.

His superiors remembered him as an extraordinary man who led by example.
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The others killed in the crash were Assistant Chief Josh Bischof and pilot Tony Sousa.

Pilot Tony Sousa, Capt. Tim Rodriguez and Assistant Chief Josh Bischof were killed in a helicopter crash battling a brush fire in Cabazon.

The memorial service for Bischof will be held Thursday at the Toyota Arena in Ontario.

A private ceremony will be held for Sousa in Gerber, in Northern California, on Friday.

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Ontario service honors Cal Fire Captain Tim Rodriguez, killed in Cabazon helicopter crash