Firefighters from around the state are converging on San Francisco this week to take part in the memorial services for the two firemen who died after fighting a fire in the City's Diamond Heights district last week.
NBC Bay Area will livestream the funeral beginning at noon Friday at this link.
At least 6,000 people are expected to attend services for Lt. Vincent Perez and firefighter-paramedic Anthony Valerio.
There are two public events scheduled for the men many are calling heroes.
A vigil will be held Thursday night at St. Mary's Cathedral on Gough St.
There will also be a joint funeral Friday at 12:30 p.m. also at St. Mary's.
Here is a pdf link to the official program for the ceremony.
After the funeral, the men will be buried at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma in a private ceremony. Streets in and around the church will be closed during the services and the precession of 200 fire trucks will follow the men to the burial site.
Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, Mayor Ed Lee, and Bill Storti, the captain of Fire Station 26 where the two men worked, will be among the speakers at the funeral, as will Perez's brother and one of Valerio's longtime ambulance partners, according to Fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge.
Both men worked out of Station 26.
They died of injuries they suffered during a flashover fire that happened while they were battling a fire at a home on Berkeley Way on June 2.
Talmadge said the initial fire that day appears to have been sparked by something electrical, but its exact cause remains under investigation.
The San Francisco firefighters' union has established trust accounts for the Perez and Valerio families at the San Francisco Fire Credit Union. Donations can be sent to the credit union at 3201 California St., San Francisco, 94118.
Condolence messages can be sent to Fire Station 26, 80 Digby St., San Francisco, 94131.
Route from St. Mary’s Cathedral to Holy Cross Cemetery:
S/B Gough to Market Street
R/T onto Market
L/T onto Valencia
R/T onto 15th Street
L/T onto Dolores Street
Dolores Merges onto San Jose Avenue
San Jose Avenue onto 280 South
Take the Serramonte Exit
L/T at light under freeway
Merge onto Collins Road
R/T onto El Camino
Merge onto Old Mission to Holy Cross
Bay City News
