Sacramento Man Among Honorees At Annual Fallen California Firefighters Ceremony

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The 17th Annual California Firefighters Ceremony was held at the state capitol today and honored 34 firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Hundreds gathered for the annual ceremony where folded American flags were distributed to family members who lost loved ones.

A Sacramento firefighter was among the honorees. Former Sacramento Fire Engineer Donald Ban worked for the department for nearly 30 years, Sacramento Fire Captain Keith Wade said.

Wade said Ban was diagnosed with job-related advanced stage colon cancer after his retirement in December of 2001, and in 2007, he was diagnosed with skin cancer, which had spread to Ban's prostate and pancreas.

Ban died at the age of 69 on August 5, 2018, due to the effects of job-related cancer, Wade said.

The names of the fallen will be etched onto a memorial wall that holds the names of over 1,400 other fallen firefighters from throughout the state.

The year 2018 was the deadliest fire season on record for the state. Those fires caused 93 deaths and damaged or destroyed more than 23,000 structures.