An off-duty Oakland firefighter drowned early Thursday morning in the waters off a San Diego-area beach, according to the San Diego Fire Department.
Just before 2 a.m., the fire department received reports of a missing swimmer near the Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach, about 8 miles north of San Diego, fire officials said.
Rescue swimmers and a helicopter responded to search for the swimmer, and search crews found a body washed ashore just before 5 a.m., fire officials said.
The Oakland Fire Department confirmed later Thursday morning the victim was Caeden Laffan, 25.
Oakland fire Chief Damon Covington said Laffan, who had been with the department for five years, was a "rising star" and "very sharp individual."
"He was completely in on being the best firefighter he could be," Covington said. "Very energetic, enthusiastic, always had a smile on his face. He will be deeply missed."
The circumstances of the drowning were not immediately clear.
Local
Covington said Laffan was in San Diego for the firefighter summer Olympics and was not alone before drowning.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
"This had nothing to do with the summer games," Covington said. "He was just out on vacation having a nice time and tragedy struck."
Laffan was a third generation firefighter, Covington said. His father, Sean Laffan, was an assistant fire chief who collapsed and died on the job in 2020 while Caeden was a probationary firefighter. Sean was 42.
Caeden's brother, Cooper, is currently in Oakland fire's recruit academy, and their mother is a peer support outreach specialist for the department.
"They are deeply embedded in the Oakland Fire Department," Covington said.
In addition to providing peer support for other firefighters, Covington said the department will do everything it can for the Laffan family.
"They've suffered such great loss," Covington said. "It's almost incomprehensible how much loss you can really suffer and still remain standing."
