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California firefighter dies at San Diego beach after disappearing during swim
The body of a 25-year-old California firefighter was recovered off a San Diego pier early Thursday morning after a beach trip with family and friends, police said.
The Oakland Fire Department confirmed via Facebook that Caedan Laffan died unexpectedly Thursday morning, and that “drowning appears to be the cause of death.”
Lt. Rick Romero with the San Diego Fire-Rescue said it was “possible” alcohol was involved, KUSI reported. His exact cause of death is undetermined pending an autopsy.
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Caedan Laffan, 25, graduated from the Oakland Fire Academy in 2019 and joined his father at the Oakland Fire Department. His body was recovered off a San Diego pier on Thursday. (Oakland Fire Department/Facebook)
Laffan’s friends and family alerted lifeguards after the 25-year-old walked into the ocean about chest to waist deep near Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach, took a couple of strokes in the water, then disappeared from view.
The San Diego Police Department responded to the scene at 1:56 a.m., and a search began in the coastal area near Grand Avenue.
“We searched for a couple of hours with a rescue boat, land units, and a Coast Guard helicopter,” Romero told KTVU. “We weren’t able to locate him.”
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Laffan was reportedly in San Diego for the California Firefighter Summer Games. (Oakland Fire Department/Facebook)
Laffan’s body was recovered north of the pier around 4:15 a.m.
“Our lifeguard sergeant spotted him,” Romero said. “He had washed onto the beach on the north side of the pier. Unfortunately, incidents happen. And it’s just a sad story.”
The Oakland firefighter was in town to compete in the California Firefighter Summer Games, his department said.
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Laffan’s body was recovered just north of Pacific Beach’s Crystal Pier, pictured. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
Laffan’s body could be seen draped in a U.S. flag as police, fire personnel, friends and family carried him to the San Diego Medical Examiner’s van, according to KUSI.
“Caeden Laffan was a young enthusiastic member of the Oakland Fire Department, with a bright future ahead of him, and we’re all heartbroken today after learning of this tragic event,” Oakland Fire Chief Damon Covington wrote in the department’s Facebook post. “Our hearts go out to the entire Laffan family, and all who know him, worked with him, and loved him.”
Firefighting was a legacy in Laffan’s family, according to KTVU. Laffan’s father was the Oakland Fire Department’s assistant fire chief before dying of a heart attack in the line of duty in 2020, his grandfather worked as a firefighter, his mother runs a business that offers mental health services to fire crews, and his younger brother Cooper is currently training in the fire academy.
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One person is dead and two others are missing near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay after a boat with 19 people aboard capsized Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
A vessel was reported to be on fire around 600 yards off Alcatraz around 3:35 p.m., and police found a capsized three-deck pontoon boat, San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said.
The incident was initially reported as a fire, but no first responders reported witnessing a blaze, Crispen said.
Everyone on the boat is believed to have been adults, Crispen said. A dog was also on board and is dead, he said.
Thirteen people were safely rescued, and another three were transported to hospitals, Crispen said.
Firefighters are “in full rescue mode,” with 11 boats and divers as part of the response, Crispen said.
“We are going to continue for hours to make sure that we find these two missing people, if possible,” Crispen said.
“It seemed like a recreational-type vessel, but that’s all we know at this point,” Crispen told reporters.
The vessel reportedly launched from a yacht club, and investigators were still gathering information, he said.
Helicopter footage from NBC Bay Area showed responding rescue boats and debris floating in the water. Video from the station appeared to show some of the rescued with blankets on shore.
Local police departments and private vessels also responded to the incident, Crispen said.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck search and hopefully rescue,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said.
When first responders arrived, some people were in the water, others were on the sinking boat, and others were falling into the water, Crispen said.
Alcatraz Island is the site of the famous prison located in San Francisco Bay, around 1 mile offshore. It was closed as a federal prison in 1963 and is now a National Park.
Crispen said the search would be extensive.
“Our standard operating procedure is to continue to search, as long as it’s safe enough for us to search,” he said.
He said divers were in the water, helicopters were above, and officials were searching areas where survivors in the water would tend to move to.
“This search will go on for some time,” Crispen said.
After so many disappointing seasons with the interior offensive line, the Seattle Seahawks made a commitment last offseason to improve the unit. They started one big step at a time by drafting North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel in the first round, 18th overall pick, of the 2025 NFL Draft. This one was one of the last steps for the Seahawks to create one of the most productive offenses in the NFL.
Zabel wasn’t perfect in his rookie season, but he was good enough to validate the decision to draft him in the first round, and he showed improvement. Zabel is already a favorite among some Seahawks fans and some media outlets as they love his determination and spirit. It was a big jump from the FCS collegiate level to the NFL and this season, he has a chance to show why he might be a top-half-of-the-league guard.
Why Zabel Could Be Ranked Higher?
The Seahawks wanted a determined workhorse when looking for a guard. That’s exactly what they got in Zabel. Last season, he appeared in 1,051 snaps, which is only 10 fewer snaps than right tackle Abraham Lucas, who had the most offensive snaps. Zabel got better as the season progressed. Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 81.5 and a run-block grade of 81.2 in Week 14 through the NFC Championship Game.
There were times last season when he looked like a monster against several defenders. He was pushing some defenders completely out of the way on pulling plays and even ran to defenders after the pass-catcher caught the ball. This is the mentality the Seahawks expect him to have going into his second season in the league. He has more experience and the complete trust of the team to be a franchise player on par with Lucas and left tackle Charles Cross. If he continues to improve, he will be another steal for the Seahawks.
Why Zabel Could Be Ranked Lower?
There were times last season when he didn’t quite catch up to the learning curve of the NFL. Zabel allowed two sacks, four hits and 24 pressures in 2025. The Seahawks expect those numbers to decrease significantly as he is experienced and capable of playing at an efficient level. While Zabel is impressive, he might not be the best player the Seahawks have selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. That honor belongs to slot cornerback Nick Emmanwori, who is stepping up to be the steal of the draft.
Zabel is easily one of the best second-year players and is one of the top offensive linemen, but there are players behind him because they haven’t proven to be consistently explosive for the Seahawks. There is going to be even more pressure on him this upcoming season. The Seahawks hired a more run-friendly coach in Brian Fleury as offensive coordinator. His ranking at the end of the season might be much better if he improves, or worse if he fails to reach expectations.
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