A granite bench on Hiller Drive now bears the name of fallen Oakland Fire Battalion Chief James M. Riley Jr.
The bench was dedicated during a ceremony at Oakland’s Firestorm Memorial Garden on Thursday. In attendance were Riley’s wife Christine, new Oakland Fire Chief Reginald D. Freeman and Councilmember Dan Kalb, along with firefighters and members of the North Hills Community Association Garden Committee.
After a large vehicle crashed into the garden and destroyed the memorial drinking fountain, the committee decided to install the bench with an inscription to Chief Riley’s memory. It was was paid for by the Oakland Firefighters Union Local 55.
Riley, 49, a 25-year department veteran with two children, was found dead with a resident on Norfolk Drive after he tried to help them flee the conflagration on Oct. 20, 1991. Both perished as the monstrous blaze became a firestorm, generating its own super-heated weather. The fire killed 25 people and destroyed 3,229 structures, doing more than $3 billion worth of damage in an area that encompassed three square miles.
The 30th anniversary will be remembered this year with an event at Lake Temescal.
OAKLAND, CA – MAY 27: Oakland firefighter Jo Jo Cook, center, greets Oakland Assistant Fire Chief Robert Lipp during a rededication ceremony at the Firestorm Memorial Garden on Hiller Drive in Oakland, Calif,, on Thursday, May 27, 2021. A bench was dedicated to remember Oakland Fire Department Battalion Chief James M. Riley Jr., who died in the 1991 firestorm while trying to save a fleeing resident. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) OAKLAND, CA – MAY 27: Firefighters, residents and city officials attend a rededication ceremony at the Firestorm Memorial Garden on Hiller Drive in Oakland, Calif,, on Thursday, May 27, 2021. A bench was dedicated to remember Oakland Fire Department Battalion Chief James M. Riley Jr., who died in the 1991 firestorm while trying to save a fleeing resident. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) OAKLAND, CA – MAY 27: A bench was dedicated to remember Oakland Fire Department Battalion Chief James M. Riley Jr. is seen during a rededication ceremony at the Firestorm Memorial Garden on Hiller Drive in Oakland, Calif,, on Thursday, May 27, 2021. Riley died in the 1991 firestorm while trying to save a fleeing resident. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) OAKLAND, CA – MAY 27: Firefighters, residents and city officials attend a rededication ceremony at the Firestorm Memorial Garden on Hiller Drive in Oakland, Calif,, on Thursday, May 27, 2021. A bench was dedicated to remember Oakland Fire Department Battalion Chief James M. Riley Jr., who died in the 1991 firestorm while trying to save a fleeing resident. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) OAKLAND, CA – MAY 27: New Oakland Fire Chief Reginald D. Freeman talks with a resident while attending a rededication ceremony at the Firestorm Memorial Garden on Hiller Drive in Oakland, Calif,, on Thursday, May 27, 2021. A bench was dedicated to remember Oakland Fire Department Battalion Chief James M. Riley Jr., who died in the 1991 firestorm while trying to save a fleeing resident. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) OAKLAND, CA – MAY 27: Oakland firefighters Jo Jo Cook, and Mark Ferreira, from left, talk with a resident during a rededication ceremony at the Firestorm Memorial Garden on Hiller Drive in Oakland, Calif,, on Thursday, May 27, 2021. A bench was dedicated to remember Oakland Fire Department Battalion Chief James M. Riley Jr., who died in the 1991 firestorm while trying to save a fleeing resident. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Today, we joined community members in the Firestorm Memorial Garden for the unveiling of a memorial bench made possible by the generosity of @OaklandFFs in honor of #OFD Battalion Chief James Riley, Jr., who died during the 1991 Firestorm saving a fleeing resident. pic.twitter.com/Pbd5ENUfWX
— Oakland Fire Department (CA) (@OaklandFireCA) May 28, 2021
