A 59-year-old man from San Clemente who served over 35 years with the Orange County Fire Authority died late Wednesday, April 15, due to complications associated with the novel coronavirus, family and friends said.

Retired Fire Apparatus Engineer Ken Caley died while under a medically induced coma at Mission Hospital shortly before midnight, his daughter, Michelle Caley, 30, said. Test results confirmed that he had contracted COVID-19.

“We had some good days and some bad days,” she said. “We thought that he had turned a corner where it looked like it was getting a little bit better.”

Caley’s daughter said he appeared to have a normal flu, and his fever had just broken when they last spoke over the phone March 25. She was in Chicago and he was in Orange County, both feeling cooped up at home while adhering to stay-at-home orders. Caley was admitted into Mission Hospital three days later.

“My dad fought hard,” Michelle Caley said.

Caley, who retired in 2018, most recently had been stationed at John Wayne Airport, OCFA Capt. Ben Gonzales said. He also served as a firefighter in Laguna Niguel and Mission Viejo, where he operated equipment alongside longtime friend, OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi. They worked together to protect numerous homes threatened by the Freeway Complex fire, which charred 30,000 acres in 2008.

“I trusted him with my life,” Concialdi said

He described Caley as competent, confident and always ready with a one-liner to lighten the mood. His daughter said he always made time for his family, despite the demands of his career. He once surprised her by showing up in uniform, even if for just a few brief minutes, at a choir recital that was scheduled while he was on duty.

He is survived by his wife of 10-years, Karla, and his two daughters, Michelle and Christine.

“I hate that he is now a part of this statistic,” Michelle Caley said. “My father was a great man, not a number.”