Memorial for Oakland firefighter who drowned in San Diego

The Oakland Fire Department on Wednesday hosted a memorial service for firefighter-paramedic Caeden Laffan aboard the USS Hornet in Alameda.

Laeden, 25, died on June 27 while off duty and on vacation in the San Diego area. Authorities there said he drowned in the waters off Pacific Beach.

Laffan, who had been with the department for five years, was a “rising star” and “very sharp individual,” Oakland fire Chief Damon Covington said after the incident.

Laffan was a third-generation firefighter, Covington said. His father, Sean Laffan, was an assistant fire chief who collapsed and died on the job in 2020 while Caeden was a probationary firefighter. Sean was 42.

Caeden’s brother, Cooper, is currently in Oakland fire’s recruit academy, and their mother is a peer support outreach specialist for the department.