Fallen L.A. County firefighter Andrew Pontious remembered as leader, wildlife lover

Dave Pontious stood at a podium in Cottonwood Church in Los Alamitos on Saturday, unwittingly tattling on himself and his younger brother Andrew as he shared childhood memories of Andrew during the veteran firefighter’s memorial service.

He remembered a summer they spent hunting rattlesnakes in the hillsides of Claremont with pellet guns their parents told them they couldn’t have. The brothers, about 9 and 10 years old, secured them anyway, with the help of an 18-year-old friend.

“We...