CITY NEWS SERVICE
SANTA CLARITA — A funeral service was held Wednesday for a veteran Los Angeles County firefighter who died earlier this month after suffering cardiac arrest while engaged in physical fitness activities at county fire Camp 14.
The service for Capt. David Bailey, who died on April 3 at the age of 50, was held at Grace Baptist Church. Interment followed at Eternal Valley Memorial Park & Mortuary in Newhall.
“Dave was a great guy to be around,” said Assistant Fire Chief Gerald Cosey. “He was full of energy and liked to handle business.”
Bailey joined the fire department on Sept. 2, 1994, and served in various assignments, including Urban Search and Rescue, Swift Water Rescue, and the Homeland Security Section. He was promoted to captain in April 2009.
Bailey was among those deployed from the Southland to assist rescuers at the scenes of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana in 2005 and the earthquake-tsunami disaster in Japan in 2011.
“He was a multi-talented guy,” said Battalion Chief Larry Collins. “He was a very well-rounded firefighter who had a lot of specialty skills and did them all well. He always had a great outlook and attitude. He really loved his work; for him, it was an adventure every day.”
Bailey is survived by his wife, Lisa; his mother, Marjorie; his sister, Mary Jane Bonilla; his mother- and father-in law, Charlotte and Henry Villa; and his brothers-in-law, Richard Bonilla and Joey Villa.