Richard “Rick” Wardall never planned on becoming a firefighter. After being involved in a life-threatening motorcycle accident, he changed career paths and initially became a paramedic before deciding to become a firefighter. He served the citizens of San Jose with honor and distinction for nearly 30 years. Rick became an experienced diver, certified dive instructor and ran his own dive business for several years. Rick succumbed to the effects of jobrelated cancer in July of 2015.