As a devoted and loyal firefighter, husband, and father, Josh never stopped serving others. He genuinely cherished his friendships and was a caring son, brother, and uncle. He loved firefighting and aviation and was always up for an adventure. He lived fully and was successful at everything he did. He had an unwavering work ethic regardless of assignment, whether it was a team deployment or caring for his home and family. He adored his wife of 24 years beyond measure and lived to make his children’s dreams come true. Josh taught others to live life in faith, to be humble, and to never settle for less than achieving your dreams.

Josh began his career in the fire service as a volunteer firefighter in Mountain Center at Volunteer Fire Station 78. He then worked for San Bernardino National Forest Service with the Vista Grande Hotshots.

In April of 1999, Josh was hired as a Firefighter I with CAL FIRE. In September 2000, he was hired as a Fire Fighter II in Indio and stayed there for the next eleven years, promoting as an engineer and captain on Truck 86. In 2011, he worked at Oak Glen Conservation Camp as a fire captain and then transferred to Hemet-Ryan Air Attack Base in 2013 as a helitack captain on Helicopter 301. He loved aviation so much. He became the captain on Air Attack 310, where he dreamed of pursuing a pilot’s license of his own. In July of 2016, Josh was promoted to battalion chief for a city and then returned as battalion chief of the base in 2020. Most recently, Josh was promoted to assistant chief of Tactical Air Operations and became a private pilot in 2022. He loved CAL FIRE almost as much as his family and served as a member of CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 4 as an operations section chief. He was an instructor for multiple cadres at the state level.

Josh set an example of integrity, work ethic, and living life BIG. He was loved and respected throughout his life by his family, friends, and colleagues.