Funerals for Firefighters Killed Fighting House Fire to be Held Friday

Funeral services will be held in San Francisco on Friday for two firefighters who died in the line of duty fighting a Diamond Heights house fire on Thursday, according to the fire department.

On Friday at Saint Mary's Cathedral at 1111 Gough St., a joint funeral will be held for firefighters Anthony Valerio, 53, and Lt. Vincent Perez, 48, who died after fighting a house fire in San Francisco's Diamond Heights neighborhood last week, a fire department dispatcher said.

Further details about the funeral, including the time, are not yet available, according to Saint Mary's Cathedral staff. 

Firefighter and paramedic Anthony "Tony" Valerio died Saturday, two days after a fire at a four-story home at 133 Berkeley Way claimed the life of his colleague Lt. Vincent Perez, 48, the fire department said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Valerio grew up in the Bay Area and graduated from , City College of San Francisco, and San Francisco State University. He spent 13 years with the city's Department of Public Health and 14 years with the fire department. 

Perez, a member of the U.S. Marine Corps and 21-year veteran of the fire department, died about an hour after firefighters responded to the blaze at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday.

Both men were unmarried and had no children, Fire Chief Joanna Hayes White said.

The two men were badly burned when objects in the room they were in heated to the point of ignition, a dangerous phenomenon known as "flashover," fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.

A female firefighter also suffered smoke inhalation while fighting the blaze, but she was treated at the hospital and released.

The San Francisco firefighters union has established trust accounts for the Perez and Valerio families at the San Francisco Fire Credit Union. Donations can be sent to the credit union at 3201 California St., San Francisco, 94118.

Condolence messages can be sent to Fire Station 26, 80 Digby St., San Francisco, 94131. 

-Bay City News