2026 HotShot Up was in honor of Tommy Minadeo
Tommy was hired by Little Tujunga Hotshots in 2013, which sparked his passion for all
things firefighting, wildland, and the outdoors. When Tommy wasn’t working, you were
sure to always find him either on the beach, hiking, camping, or at a brewery with his
friends. He was larger than life in every sense of the word, living more in his 32 years
than many do in a lifetime.
Tommy and his Fiancée, Vanessa, loved traveling, backpacking, and spending time with
their dog Bella. They were engaged on September 23, 2024, and 23 days later, on
October 16, 2024, their lives changed in ways they could have never imagined. They
had plans to travel to Asia in November 2024, followed by a courthouse wedding in
January 2025, and dreams of starting a family soon after. Instead of celebrating one of
the most joyful seasons of their lives, they spent the next 30 days at USC Norris
Comprehensive Cancer Center, where Tommy was diagnosed with job-related Acute
Myeloid Leukemia (AML) with an aggressive TP53 gene mutation.
Tommy and Vanessa spent the next 6 months enduring countless hospital stays, blood transfusions, and long
days filled with hope that remission would last long enough for him to receive a life-saving bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, during his 5th round of chemotherapy on March 7, 2025, Tommy succumbed to his battle with AML and passed away at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, surrounded by friends and family at the age of 32 years old.
Tommy was hired by the Ventura County Fire Department in 2015 as a seasonal fire control worker and became a full-time firefighter in 2017, graduating from Academy 54. In 2022, he was promoted to engineer and proudly served his final assignment at Station 54 in Simi Valley—his hometown.
