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Surnames: catlow
Classification: Death
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Message Board Post:
CATLOW - Auto Fireman James L. Catlow, Engine Company 39, B Platoon, Died of burns in
Georgia Street Receiving Hospital. November 12, 1955
http://www.lafire.com/lastalarm_file/1955-1106_Catlow/JamesCatlow.htm
Catlow was fatally burned at the
La Tuna Canyon Brush Fire
on the Verdugo Fire Road and died six days later.
He was Posthumously Awarded the Medal of Valor for
remaining at the panel of his pump to supply his crew.
The award was received by his wife from Chief Alderson.
Burns Fatal
To La Tuna
Fire Hero
Heroic Fireman dies
Of Burns
Heroic attempts of James L. Catlow, 33-year-old city fireman, to save his fire truck
when it was circled by flames in the La Tuna Canyon fire proved fatal today as he died of
burns in Georgia Street Receiving Hospital.
Catlow was burned over 75 per cent of his body last Sunday when he refused to leave
the pumping rig as the fire raged nearby. He fought to keep the fire from the truck until
the heat forced him to retreat.
Asst. Fire Chief Leonard Eggleston termed Catlow's stand "the most
outstanding example sheer courage" he had ever seen.
Catlow, of 7534 Yarmouth ave., Reseda, registered a temperature of 109.2 shortly
before his dearth early today.
Meanwhile, other fire fighters began mop-up operations on two fronts as the fires in
La Tuna Canyon and the Hidden Valley area of Ventura County were reported extinguished.
City Fireman, Trapped
in La Tuna Blaze, Dies
A Los Angeles city fireman who was trapped by flames when the La Tuna Canyon fire in
Tujunga broke out last Sunday died yesterday as cleanup crews continued to patrol the
region blackened during the week-long blaze.
James L. Catlow, 35, succumbed at Georgia Street Receiving Hospital after suffering
face, hand and body burns that sent his temperature up to 109 deg. He was caught by the
flames soon after the fire exploded in the canyon's dry brush.
Funeral services for Catlow will be conducted Tuesday at 1 p.m. in Utter-McKinley
Wilshire Chapel. They will be in charge of American Lodge 475, F&AM. Chaplain Joseph
R. Hoffman of the Los Angeles Fire Department will also take part.
Catlow was a veteran of World War II, serving in the submarine service. He was a
member of the Builders Club of the Fire Department, and a member of Engine Co. 39B.
He leaves his widow Frances, of 7534 Yarmouth Ave., Reseda: his mother Mrs. Edith
Catlow, and a brother, John D. Catlow.
50 Remain at Posts
Some 50 firemen, meanwhile, remained in the La Tuna Canyon and Green Verdugo Fire Road
areas on "cold training" operations that covered most of the fire's 3000
blackened acres.
Another fire that burned more than 17,000 acres in Ventura County smoldered in the
west end of Hidden Valley yesterday after weary firemen succeeded in bringing the blaze
under complete control Friday.
Mopping-Up Duty
Twenty men were retained on mopping-up duty which Ventura County Chief Fire Warden C.
D. Little said would continue for two days. Coastal fog was credited with helping fire
fighters in their battle to stem a firehead on the northern slopes of Boney Mountain above
Hidden Valley, the last flaming area.