Funeral procession carries firefighters to Menifee mortuary

Staff photos by Doug Spoon

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Residents lined Encanto Drive in front of Evans Brown Mortuary Thursday in tribute to a funeral procession carrying firefighters Josh Bischof and Tim Rodriguez.

Bischof and Rodriguez died Sunday night along with pilot Tony Souza in a helicopter crash while fighting a wildfire in Cabazon. Dozens of fire vehicles from throughout Riverside County lined the streets and joined in the procession from the Coroner’s Office in Perris to the mortuary in Menifee.

Firefighters and law enforcement officials stood at attention as the caskets were carried into the mortuary. Five helicopters hovered overhead. Northbound traffic on the 215 Freeway slowed as cars passed the site.

Bischof, a resident of Menifee, served 3 ½ years as Battalion 13 Chief in Menifee before being transferred to the Riverside County Fire Department’s Hemet Ryan Air Attack Base in February 2020. As Assistant Chief there, he coordinated aerial attacks on fires in the area.

Souza will be honored in a separate service. Plans for memorial services for Bischof and Rodriguez are pending.