Former El Paso Fire Department Captain and El Paso Community College instructor Robert J. Figueroa died Monday evening, his son Robert Figueroa Jr. said.Figueroa Sr. was at Providence Memorial Hospital, where he was heavily sedated after pancreatic cancer had spread through his body during prior weeks, his son said. The cancer previously had been treated in Dallas but had come back, Figueroa Jr. said.
“It was hard last night,” his son said.
Figueroa Jr. said his father was 69 years old. He had retired as a captain from the Fire Department in the early 1990s after about 25 years of service, Figueroa Jr. said.
But he had continued to teach fire technology and prevention and arson classes at El Paso Community College, his son said. Figueroa Sr. had also been a captain in the Fire Department’s training academy.
“A lot of the guys that are on the line right now, he trained them,” Figueroa Jr. said.
Figueroa Jr. said his father was widely recognized after proving arson had killed two elderly antique dealers in the 1980s.
Figueroa Jr. said the El Paso police had called the fire accidental, but his father, who was a lieutenant with the Fire Marshall’s Office at the time, “just didn’t believe it was an accidental fire.”
Figueroa Sr.’s wife and three of his children live in El Paso, Figueroa Jr. said. He also has four children from another marriage who live in Washington, D.C.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been made.
Jake Rollow may be reached at jrollow@elpasotimes.com; 546-6137.
Source: ElPaso Times
