For Lance Michaelis, you might say that water was his life. As a firefighter, Lance used water as a tool to douse flames and protect lives and property. But away from the job, he spent a lot of time in the water. In high school and college, Lance was a nationally ranked swimmer for Santa Clara High and UCLA, respectively. He kept on swimming throughout his life, bringing home the Firefighter Olympic gold in a number of events. And it wasn't unusual to see Lance and his sons "catching a wave" in Santa Cruz. Lance Michaelis lost his battle with job-related cancer less than four months shy of his 50th birthday.