Funeral plans announced for Tempe firefighter who died of cancer

PHOENIX – The 36-year-old Tempe firefighter who died of job-related cancer last week will be laid to rest Wednesday.

Tempe Fire Medical Rescue said a service for Tommy Arriaga will be held at a Tempe church, and he will be buried in a Scottsdale cemetery.

The general public is welcome at the service, which is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at the Sun Valley Community Church (6101 S. River Drive).

After the service, around 2 p.m., a funeral procession will head to Green Acres Mortuary and Cemetery (401 N. Hayden Road).

The hearse, Arriaga’s family and Tempe fire vehicles will follow a route from River Drive south to Guadalupe Road, Guadalupe west to McClintock Drive, and McClintock north to the cemetery (McClintock becomes Hayden in Scottsdale).

Westbound Guadalupe and northbound McClintock will experience rolling closures during the procession, which is expected to be completed by 3 p.m.

The city of Tempe is inviting the public to line the route to honor Arriaga, who died March 6.

He’d been diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2019. The cancer was determined to be related to his job, the city said.

Arriaga started with the department in 2014 and joined the Hazardous Materials Response Team in 2016.

He is survived by his wife, Monica, and two daughters ages 7 and 3.

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