Site Logo

Two Kent firefighters memorialized in Olympia ceremony

Published 4:05 pm Monday, June 15, 2026

By Steve Hunter shunter@soundpublishing.com

The annual Washington State Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial Service June 14 in Olympia, included honoring two Kent-based Puget Sound Fire firefighters, Deputy Chief Jimmy Webb and Capt. Brandon Minneman. COURTESY PHOTO, Puget Sound Fire
1/6

The annual Washington State Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial Service June 14 in Olympia, included honoring two Kent-based Puget Sound Fire firefighters, Deputy Chief Jimmy Webb and Capt. Brandon Minneman. COURTESY PHOTO, Puget Sound Fire

The annual Washington State Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial Service June 14 in Olympia, included honoring two Kent-based Puget Sound Fire firefighters, Deputy Chief Jimmy Webb and Capt. Brandon Minneman. COURTESY PHOTO, Puget Sound Fire
Capt. Brandon Minneman and Deputy Chief Jimmy Webb each served with Kent-based Puget Sound Fire. COURTESY PHOTO, Puget Sound Fire
t
t
t
t

Two Kent-based Puget Sound Fire firefighters were among the 10 honored at the annual Washington State Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial Service on Sunday, June 14 on the State Capitol’s West Campus in Olympia.

Puget Sound Fire Deputy Chief Jimmy Webb, 55, and Capt. Brandon Minneman, 43, each died in 2025.

Firefighters were memorialized with a procession, a bell ceremony, plaque presentations to the families and by hanging embroidered ribbons on the memorial pike pole, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Webb, a 26-year veteran of the department, died Sept. 5, 2025 of cancer. He was diagnosed with cancer in late December 2024, according to Puget Sound Fire spokesperson Pat Pawlak. He retired from the agency June 30, 2025 after nearly four years as deputy chief. It is considered a line-of-duty death due to occupational-related cancer. He died from glioblastoma, a malignant tumor affecting the brain or spine and can happen at any age, according to mayoclinic.org. I

Just a couple of months earlier, Minneman, a 17-year veteran, died June 24, 2025 of cancer. He died of synovial sarcoma, according to Pawlak. It is a rare type of cancer that tends to occur near large joints, mainly the knees and usually affects young adults, according to mayoclinic.org.

“While firefighters do wear protective equipment, our bunker gear does not protect us from all carcinogenic exposures on the fire ground,” Pawlak said.

Occupational cancer caused 65% of the career firefighter line-of-duty deaths in the United States from Jan. 1, 2002, to Dec. 31, 2021, according to data from the International Association of Fire Fighters at firefightercancersupport.org. Firefighters have a 9% higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer than the general U.S. population.

Puget Sound Fire serves Covington, Kent, Maple Valley, SeaTac, Tukwila and King County Fire Districts 37 and 43.

The following firefighters were memorialized:

• Capt. David Phay (Dec. 17, 2018), Spokane Valley Fire

• Capt. Troy Phillips (April 25, 2023), Northport Fire

• Firefighter Michael Kelly Jensen (Aug. 20, 2023), Naches Ranger District United States Forest Service

• Lt. Luther Loyd McCallister (Feb. 22, 2025), South Kitsap Fire and Rescue

• Division Chief Shaun Ward (March 19, 2025), North Whatcom Fire and Rescue

• Lt. Adam Lamb (April 25, 2025), Bothell Fire Department

• Capt. Brandon Minneman (June 24, 2025), Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority

• Deputy Chief Bill Mack (July 18, 2025), East Pierce Fire and Rescue

• Deputy Chief Jimmy Webb (Sept. 5, 2025), Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority

• Firefighter Eric Rothhausen (Nov. 1, 2025), Whatcom County Fire District 7

You Might Like