For 32 years, Captain Holmes served the public with honor and distinction as a member of the Fresno Fire Department. Strongly rooted in the Fresno community, Neil graduated from Fresno High School and attended California State University, Fresno before completing the Fire Science program at Fresno City College. He had a great affinity for computers and his skills were instrumental in programming and developing Fresno City's fire call response time database. He is survived by his wife Stacy, his children, Kristine and Jeffery, and his four grandchildren. Neil died in 1998 after suffering an on-duty brain aneurysm.