Who they were
Victims of the Old Fire
On Oct. 25, 2003, a massive fire broke out at Old Waterman Canyon Road and California 18 and raced through the forest and brush, forcing the evacuation of more than 30 communities and 80,000 people. Six men died of heart attacks in the 91,00-acre wildfire, and investigators said five of those deaths were directly related to the stress of the fire.
Habitual criminal Rickie Lee Fowler was convicted Wednesday on five counts of murder and two counts of arson in the Old Fire that destroyed 1,000 homes and blackened the northwest face of the San Bernardino Mountains.
James McDermith, 70
Charles H. Cunningham, 93
Chad Leo Williams, 70
Robert Norman Taylor, 54
Ralph Eugene McWilliams, 67
James McDermith, 70
James McDermith, 70, of Highland, died trying to retrieve his trailer during the blaze.
Lisa McDermith, daughter-in-law of James McDermith, said in 2009 she hoped Fowler would be convicted.
"The whole family will be happy, not only for us but for the other victims as well," she said. "I think when you do a crime, you do the time. I think it's time he pays for this."
Chad Leo Williams, 70
Chad Leo Williams, 70, a former fire captain in the city of San Bernardino, died of a heart attack while fleeing his fire-threatened home with his wife, Ginger.
"He took one last load of stuff -- a stack of cabinet drawers -- and when I looked down there, I saw him laying on the driveway," Ginger Williams said in 2004. "I had a neighbor who's a nurse help me try to revive him, and a paramedic came, but I heard him say, 'It doesn't look good.' "
Robert Norman Taylor, 54
Robert Taylor, 54, died as a result of the 2003 Old Fire.
Ralph Eugene McWilliams, 67
Ralph E. McWilliams, 67, died as a result of the 2003 Old Fire.
