A park honoring two Stockton first responders who lost their lives while on duty officially opened Saturday, Feb. 6 in north Stockton.
Before a dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony began at the 12.4-acre park fire engines, police squad cars and motorcycles filled the parking lot.
Inspiration Park, located at 7149 Scott Creek Drive, is dedicated to Officer Jimmy Inn and Fire Capt. Max Fortuna. The first responders died eight months apart serving the Stockton community.
The park was developed in conjunction with the city of Stockton, A.G. Spanos Companies and Lennar Homes, according to city officials.
It was donated to the city by the AG Spanos development company, and the transfer took time to complete, according to Councilmember Michele Padilla.
As the event began, the family members of Inn and Fortuna sat in the middle of the sheltered picnic area of the park listening. Members of each family wore Stockton police or fire shirts that represented their loved one.
Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi spoke first at the ceremony. She said she had been present with both families the days they were laid to rest.
“It’s a beautiful, but bittersweet day,” Fugazi said.
She said the park is a legacy where the community will be able to cherish Inn and Fortuna’s memory.
Fugazi said she looks forward to the day that a plaque dedication is held so people will be able to understand the sacrifice that Inn and Fortuna made.
Padilla, whose district includes the park, echoed the same sentiment as the mayor.
“It’s not just an opening today. It’s not just a celebration today,” Padilla said. “This park carries deep meaning. Their service and their sacrifice will always be remembered.”
Fortuna’s little sister, Tammy Fortuna-Dufton, took the podium to speak about her brother while wearing a blue Stockton Fire shirt. Beside her were her parents.
She said while people knew her brother as Max she knew him as Junior.
Fortuna-Dufton said the family was grateful to learn that the park would be named after the two men because her brother was an inspiration to many.
She said her brother wasn’t just a person or brother, he was a firefighter and an amazing human being.
“We would like to thank the Inn family for allowing us to share this park with you guys and thank you to the city of Stockton for allowing us to have a place where we can remember him,” Fortuna-Dufton said.
Fortuna-Dufton said in their family they had a lot of park days. She said her brother spent a lot of his days as a young adult raising his children being a “park dad or brother.”
“Junior was constantly at a park,” she said. “Whether it was our own kids playing flag football … or he was continuing coaching kids from football to baseball to soccer.”
She pleaded with the audience to not stop saying Fortuna’s name, although he would not be excited for that.
“He was a very humble man,” she said. “The fact that the park is named after him, he’s rolling his eyes and making lots of comments about how silly this is.”
Inn’s wife, Tela Inn, spoke next and said that while her husband and Fortuna had a lot in common they differed in one area.
“He would be absolutely thrilled (about the park,)” she said. “If you knew Jimmy, you knew he loved to be the star of the show. He was the star of the show.”
She said her husband enjoyed making everyone laugh and being the life of the party.
“Jimmy was larger than life and he deserves everything that everybody has done to keep his name out there,” Tela Inn said. “He gave everything to this community.”
Tela Inn said her husband loved the community and it was a city he never wanted to leave because he was proud to work and live in the city.
She said while a lot of people wondered why the family continued to live in the same city where they worked the answer was simple.
“Because he did everything the right way and he did everything with integrity so he had no fear of running into anybody,” Inn’s wife said.
She said her husband, just like Fortuna, was always at a park so the park dedication meant a lot to their family.
Supervisor Mario Gardea, who was also the president of the Stockton Firefighters Local 456 at the time of Fortuna’s death, also spoke at the ceremony.
He said he knew Fortuna very well and knew he spent a lot of time at parks.
“The only thing that would make this park better was if there was a handball court,” Gardea said.
He said seeing children playing at the park is something he knew Inn and Fortuna would love to see.
As the ceremony went on, children played at the two different playground structures offered at the park. Parents stood nearby watching the event as well as their children playing.
When the dedication ceremony concluded, city leaders and the families of Inn and Fortuna cut a ribbon marking the official opening of the park.
Who were Inn and Fortuna?
Fortuna, 47, was killed on Jan. 31, 2022, while responding to a fire at 142 S. Aurora St.
While extinguishing the blaze, firefighters noticed it was advancing toward a structure and attempted to enter the building. However, Fortuna, a 21-year veteran of the department, was shot and killed by a man inside the building.
Fortuna joined the fire department in 2000 and had served as a fire captain since 2008.
The city said in a statement that Fortuna had worked at some of the city’s busiest stations and led the Urban Search and Rescue response team.
Fortuna is survived by a wife and two adult children.
Inn, 30, who was also a first responder, died on-duty on May 11, 2021, while responding to a domestic violence call on La Cresta Way in North Stockton.
The officer, a six-year veteran assigned to the Field Operations Division, was hired in December 2015.
He is survived by a wife, who is also a Stockton police officer, and three children.
Record reporter Victoria Franco covers public safety in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at vfranco@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton’s Inspiration Park honors fallen first responders Inn and Fortuna
Reporting by Victoria Franco, The Stockton Record / The Record
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