James Edward Howe – known to everyone as Jimmy -loved being a firefighter. Despite 22 years with he department and the seniority to enjoy a quiet station near home, Jimmy chose to work the chaos of south Los Angeles and his beloved Station 9. He loved keeping busy and hated downtime. His crew nicknamed him “Taz,” after the Tasmanian Devil, because he was a virtual whirlwind on every call. They fondly remember him emerging from scenes covered head-to-toe in soot, grinning ear to ear.
Prior to being a fire fighter, Jim honorably served his country in the U.S. Army in one extended tour of duty in Vietnam in the 101st Airborne Division as an MP. He earned 2 Purple hearts during his service.
During his time with Los Angeles County Fire department he earned three commendations. One was for rescuing an unconscious seven-year old boy from an apartment fire. Another was for stopping a teenage gang member from stealing a bike from an 11 year-old deaf/mute boy in front of the fire station and holding him until the police arrived. The last was for repairs that he made to the station during his off duty hours, using his own concrete mixer.
Jim was a family man and dedicated husband to wife, Nancy, and a loving father to his two daughters, Leslie and Debbie. The family summer vacations were to the Northern Californian town of Chester for camping and spending time with his younger brothers Bill and Julien. He would also take many trips to visit older brother Richard in Fremont and his parents in Oregon.
Jim suffered the loss of his thumb on a call when a firehose wrapped around it, ripping it from his hand. This incident led to the department changing the kind of hoses that they used. Two years later, on January 9, 1991, station 9 was called to a structure fire at a strip mall. Jim, and 9 other firefighters were injured when the second story of the structure collapsed on them. Jim was knocked unconscious and was submerged underwater for more than 20 minutes. He was rushed to the hospital and was in a coma for a week before passing away.
Jimmy Howe worked hard, played hard, and loved deeply. He was a man of deep Christian faith modeling the words in 1 John 3:16, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”
He remains a legend at Engine 9 and a hero to the family and community he served so tirelessly.
This was my dad. He was a dedicated Los Angeles County Firefighter. He loved God, his family, his job and the community he worked in. He was a bright light to all who knew him and he taught me to work hard and be humble. He is always missed. XOXO
– Debi