The Indiana Fire Service Hot Shots Website.
Enrico Aquino Garcia Jr.
It is
with deep regret that the Indiana Department of Homeland Security / Fire and
Building Safety Division inform you that Enrico Garcia, Jr. (44) passed away
on Sunday afternoon, September 23rd.
Enrico had been participating in a Task Force 7 Training exercise and became ill. Enrico served as an Emergency Responder for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security/ Fire and Building Safety Division and was instrumental in the establishment of Task Force 7. His wife Elisa and three sons survive him. Please keep Enrico’s family in your thoughts and prayers.
Enrico was currently serving with Indiana Homeland Security as an Emergency Responder for Hazardous Materials /WMD/Counter-Terrorism Response. His primary duties were to assist local emergency response agencies including law enforcement, fire/rescue, Hazmat teams, etceteras, in mitigating incidents involving hazardous chemicals, weapons of mass destruction, and terrorist events by interfacing with local incident command and providing technical guidance or state resources. He had been a public safety professional for more than 21 years with backgrounds in fire/rescue, law enforcement, emergency medical service, emergency management, and Hazmat.
He was also a Special Deputy with the Vigo County Putnam, and Sullivan County Sheriff’s Departments in Indiana as well as a Deputy Marshal in the town of Roachdale, Indiana and had served for seven years as a Firefighter/EMT with the Terre Haute Fire Department. He was previously an Adjunct Instructor at Indiana University and Indiana Vocational Technical College
Enrico was one of the first to receive an internationally accredited (International Fire Service Accreditation Process) Hazardous Materials Certificate in Indiana, degrees in information technology, business administration, and held all but two Master Firefighter Certifications through the State of Indiana. Some of his specialty training includes Incident Command, Bombing Crime Scene Investigation (FBI), Special Operations – WMD and Hazmat (office of Hazardous Materials Safety) crimes, Special Weapons and Tactics forces (SWAT), Confined Space Rescue, Force Protection, Field Chemical and Biological Analysis, Plume Dispersion Modeling (Computer Aided Management Emergency Operations – Area Location of Hazardous Atmospheres), Chemistry of Hazmat (National Fire Academy), and Clandestine Drug Labs.
His experience over the years includes hundreds of actual incidents from large chemical factory incidents, domestic terrorism incidents, to small clandestine drug labs boasting hundreds of hours of actual hands-on and suit time. He had the pleasure of working with all levels of government, including local, state, and federal — Environmental Protection Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Drug Enforcement Agency, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Coast Guard, Department of Defense. He was cross trained in law enforcement.
He had conducted many classes and seminars on hazardous materials, weapons of mass destruction, and counter-terrorism response state-wide. Ensuring others benefit and learn from his vast experiences.
He has been a practitioner in the martial arts for 33 years and has been instructing for about 12 years. His specialty was in the Filipino martial arts — popular to many law enforcement professionals because of its direct practical applications. Students included members of tactical teams, military personnel, federal officers, local patrol officers, bodyguards, and select students from the public.
Aside from response and education, he helped build multi-jurisdictional, multi-disciplinary response teams. He co-founded TaskForce 7. They plan, train, exercise, and respond as a unit and not individual departments.
Some of his awards include: Bravery, Ingenuity, and Leadership (State Emergency Management Agency), and Firefighter of the Year 1989 (Exchange Club International)
Some affiliations are TaskForce 7 Regional Response Team, National Tactical Officer’s Association, National Criminal Enforcement Association, Indiana SWAT Officer’s Association, Indiana Forward Response Team, Indiana Volunteer Firefighters Association.
“To be a well rounded and effective emergency responder, you must learn and even possess the skill sets of those whom you respond with.” Enrico Garcia Jr.
Survivors include his wife, Elise Hunter Garcia; sons, Joshua, Jacob and Jonah; father, Dr. Enrico Garcia and step-mother, Dr. Evelyn Santos Garcia; brothers, Reggie Garcia, Brian Garcia, and Gregory Garcia; sisters: Dr. Elizabeth Garcia-Gray, Marissa Garcia, Anna Christine Navarette, Guia Garcia, Mary Jo Durbin, and Lisa Garcia-Reger. He was preceded in death by his mother, Josephine Aquine-Benzon Garcia; and all of his grandparents. He was born Nov. 1, 1962, in the Philippines.
Funeral services are 11 a.m. Saturday at Maryland Community Church 4700 State Road 46, with Jack Fox officiating. Burial is in Highland Lawn Cemetery. Calling hours will be at the church on Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. DeBaun Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. For those who choose, memorial contributions may be made to the Enrico Garcia Jr. Memorial Fund, in care of any First Financial Bank.
Click on sets to see Slide Show (Windows Media Player needed):
Enrico had been participating in a Task Force 7 Training exercise and became ill. Enrico served as an Emergency Responder for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security/ Fire and Building Safety Division and was instrumental in the establishment of Task Force 7. His wife Elisa and three sons survive him. Please keep Enrico’s family in your thoughts and prayers.
Enrico Aquino Garcia Jr.
Enrico
Aquino Garcia Jr., of Terre Haute, died at
3:45 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007, in St. Vincent
Clay Hospital in Brazil He died
Sunday afternoon of a sudden heart attack while training with Task Force 7 –
a multi-jurisdictional, multi-disciplinary response team involving resources
(fire/rescue, law enforcement, hazardous materials, health departments, EMS,
etc.) from eight Indiana counties.Enrico was currently serving with Indiana Homeland Security as an Emergency Responder for Hazardous Materials /WMD/Counter-Terrorism Response. His primary duties were to assist local emergency response agencies including law enforcement, fire/rescue, Hazmat teams, etceteras, in mitigating incidents involving hazardous chemicals, weapons of mass destruction, and terrorist events by interfacing with local incident command and providing technical guidance or state resources. He had been a public safety professional for more than 21 years with backgrounds in fire/rescue, law enforcement, emergency medical service, emergency management, and Hazmat.
He was also a Special Deputy with the Vigo County Putnam, and Sullivan County Sheriff’s Departments in Indiana as well as a Deputy Marshal in the town of Roachdale, Indiana and had served for seven years as a Firefighter/EMT with the Terre Haute Fire Department. He was previously an Adjunct Instructor at Indiana University and Indiana Vocational Technical College
Enrico was one of the first to receive an internationally accredited (International Fire Service Accreditation Process) Hazardous Materials Certificate in Indiana, degrees in information technology, business administration, and held all but two Master Firefighter Certifications through the State of Indiana. Some of his specialty training includes Incident Command, Bombing Crime Scene Investigation (FBI), Special Operations – WMD and Hazmat (office of Hazardous Materials Safety) crimes, Special Weapons and Tactics forces (SWAT), Confined Space Rescue, Force Protection, Field Chemical and Biological Analysis, Plume Dispersion Modeling (Computer Aided Management Emergency Operations – Area Location of Hazardous Atmospheres), Chemistry of Hazmat (National Fire Academy), and Clandestine Drug Labs.
His experience over the years includes hundreds of actual incidents from large chemical factory incidents, domestic terrorism incidents, to small clandestine drug labs boasting hundreds of hours of actual hands-on and suit time. He had the pleasure of working with all levels of government, including local, state, and federal — Environmental Protection Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Drug Enforcement Agency, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Coast Guard, Department of Defense. He was cross trained in law enforcement.
He had conducted many classes and seminars on hazardous materials, weapons of mass destruction, and counter-terrorism response state-wide. Ensuring others benefit and learn from his vast experiences.
He has been a practitioner in the martial arts for 33 years and has been instructing for about 12 years. His specialty was in the Filipino martial arts — popular to many law enforcement professionals because of its direct practical applications. Students included members of tactical teams, military personnel, federal officers, local patrol officers, bodyguards, and select students from the public.
Aside from response and education, he helped build multi-jurisdictional, multi-disciplinary response teams. He co-founded TaskForce 7. They plan, train, exercise, and respond as a unit and not individual departments.
Some of his awards include: Bravery, Ingenuity, and Leadership (State Emergency Management Agency), and Firefighter of the Year 1989 (Exchange Club International)
Some affiliations are TaskForce 7 Regional Response Team, National Tactical Officer’s Association, National Criminal Enforcement Association, Indiana SWAT Officer’s Association, Indiana Forward Response Team, Indiana Volunteer Firefighters Association.
“To be a well rounded and effective emergency responder, you must learn and even possess the skill sets of those whom you respond with.” Enrico Garcia Jr.
Survivors include his wife, Elise Hunter Garcia; sons, Joshua, Jacob and Jonah; father, Dr. Enrico Garcia and step-mother, Dr. Evelyn Santos Garcia; brothers, Reggie Garcia, Brian Garcia, and Gregory Garcia; sisters: Dr. Elizabeth Garcia-Gray, Marissa Garcia, Anna Christine Navarette, Guia Garcia, Mary Jo Durbin, and Lisa Garcia-Reger. He was preceded in death by his mother, Josephine Aquine-Benzon Garcia; and all of his grandparents. He was born Nov. 1, 1962, in the Philippines.
Funeral services are 11 a.m. Saturday at Maryland Community Church 4700 State Road 46, with Jack Fox officiating. Burial is in Highland Lawn Cemetery. Calling hours will be at the church on Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. DeBaun Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. For those who choose, memorial contributions may be made to the Enrico Garcia Jr. Memorial Fund, in care of any First Financial Bank.
Click on sets to see Slide Show (Windows Media Player needed):
Enrico Garcia Jr Set #1 |
Enrico Garcia Jr Set #2 |
Enrico Garcia Jr Set #3 |
Enrico Garcia Jr Set #4
Enrico Garcia Jr Set #5 |
Enrico Garcia Jr Set #6 |
Enrico Garcia Jr Set #7
If you would like a DVD with individual pictures send an email to: jbuckman@dhs.in.gov