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Firefighter stayed upbeat despite stress |
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Jon Engellenner Bee Staff Writer Kevin Douglas Printz was remembered Thursday as a firefighter and emergency medical technician who stayed upbeat despite the pressures of his job and his family's health concerns. In recent months, when he needed to take time off because of his young son's life-threatening illness, many fellow firefighters stood in for him at Station 62 of the Sacramento County Fire Department on Bradshaw Road. "People from other shifts and other battalions - people who had never met Kevin - lent a hand. They had heard good things about him." said Geoff Miller, a department battalion chief. Mr. Printz 34, who earned a reputation as a dedicated and hard-working firefighter, died April 30 in his Diamond Springs home near Placerville. Fire department officials said the cause of death is undetermined pending |
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toxicology reports. They added that Mr. Printz's death was either natural or accidental, apparently a combination of health factors and medication. On Thursday, nearly 800 people, many of them uniformed firefighters, attended a funeral in Placerville for Mr. Printz. Then they joined a procession that included 40 fire engines down Highway 50 to Mr. Printz's final resting place in a cemetery near Cameron Park. Mr. Printz's casket rode on the Fire Department's Engine No. 62. If being a fireman was a calling for Kevin Printz, the ceremonial end of his career also was something he would have appreciated, Miller said. "That's the way I want to go." Miller recalled Mr. Printz saying at a recent, highly ceremonial funeral for a firefighter. "Kevin had wanted to be a |
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firefighter for many years. He started as a volunteer, and he worked hard for several volunteer departments. "He touched a lot of people," Miller added, "He was easygoing, and despite all that was going on, he was upbeat, a great husband and father." Mr. Printz was a native of Hamilton, Mont. After a stint in the Navy and volunteer fire department work, he was accepted in January 1990 into the resident academy of the Sacramento County Fire Protection District. There he earned his emergency medical technician certificate. In 1992 he was hired as a full-time firefighter. Survivors include his wife, Debbie, and sons, Kyle and Forrest, all of Diamond Springs; and his parents, Doug Printz and Jackie Printz-Harmon. |
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Taken from the May 8, 1998 SACRAMENTO BEE |