Capo Beach Fire Department Honored with Memorial Flag

Retired Capistrano Beach businessman, Larry Robinson, is all about "community." In fact, he recently converted the Barrett/Robinson warehouse that served his company for the past 35 years into The Fish Tank - the community's first cultural events center. The local venue has hosted local artists and musicians and, in Larry's words, serves as "a place to celebrate creativity, collaboration, and community" in the Doheny Village area of Capo Beach. When he learned that his friend, Lt. Ira "Jim" Goode (ret.), a former firefighter with the North Maine Fire Department in Des Plaines, Illinois, was creating memorial flags in honor of the heroes who hold "the thin red line" he knew he had to commission a similar piece for nearby Station 29.

Friday morning Larry, with two dozen donuts in hand, arrived at the Victoria Street Fire Station, located right behind the Fish Tank, with his long time friend, Jim Goode. They got a taste of first responders' life first hand, as Battalion Chief Cheyne Maule and several firefighters were almost immediately called away to put out a nearby vehicle fire. Luckily, Captain Greg Bradshaw, Engineer Mike Varker, firefighter Eddie Nevin and firefighter/medic Kevin Granquist remained behind and were happy to accept the donation on behalf of the Station.

This was Jim Goode's fourth hand made commemorative flag. One hangs proudly in a fire station in Gilbert, AZ, where Goode, retired since 2000, now resides. Like the others, this 30 pound flag measures 5 feet by 3 feet and is constructed entirely of hand scorched pine. The laser cut stars were created out of MDF material by Larry's friend, Alex Evans of Fallbrook. Retired firefighter Lt. Goode, who learned woodworking from his contractor father in the 1960s, lovingly constructed, painted and delivered the flag,which will be hung inside the fire station for the crew to enjoy.

The black striped flag with a prominent red line is a symbol used by fire departments to show respect for those injured and killed in the line of duty. The term originated in the Crimean War when the British routed the Russians in the Battle of Balaclava in 1854, when a local press writer referred to the "thin red line" defending the British base, just as fire fighters defend the community from fire threat.

"I feel privileged to honor our local firefighters with this donation," said Robinson. "Station 29 is an integral part of our community and the whole crew deserves our deep gratitude for their selfless service."