09/13/2021
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Forest Grove Fire family
It is with the heaviest of hearts, and deepest sympathies, that Forest Grove Fire & Rescue announces the death of a beloved member, Captain Rick Ilg, who passed away at his home on September 12, 2021. Just before Christmas 2018, Rick received a brain cancer diagnosis that he fought bravely against for nearly three years. Throughout it all, Rick’s resilience and determination was nothing short of incredible, as evidenced by when he returned to work full duty for a period of time. Unfortunately, Rick’s cancer progressed, and forced him to retire from our organization this past summer.
Rick came to our fire department in 2006, he was a long time employee of Metro West Ambulance before that, and Rick’s life work in emergency medicine made him one of our region’s most respected and regarded Paramedics. During his decades of service, Rick left an immeasurable mark on the countless paramedics, EMTs, and firefighters who worked with him, and were mentored by his always impressive ability to handle the most stressful incidents with an unthinkable ease. It’s impossible to even begin to consider the true number of lives Rick impacted, both in the patients he cared for, and in those who worked alongside him. His leadership, intelligence, and hard work earned him promotions to Lieutenant, and eventually to Captain of our C Shift.
Captain Rick Ilg was a friend to all, a mentor for many, as well as a loving husband and father to a wife and daughter that he leaves behind. There is no way to explain in any words the mark that this man left on all of us, and we already miss him dearly.
Cancer is a grim and serious issue for the fire service. The smoke, and burned debris of our modern structure fires contain considerable amount of carcinogens and toxins that have been scientifically proven to contribute to causing cancer. That being said, cancer is considered a line of duty death for firefighters. Though other firefighters have succumbed to cancer in our agency’s history, Rick’s loss is the first line of duty death in Forest Grove since the adoption of presumptive cancer legislation was passed in Oregon over two decades ago
