Long Beach firefighter Jake Heflin, one of the department’s public information officers, has been balancing grief with keeping the media and the community informed during the extraordinarily busy week following the shooting death of Capt. David Rosa.

“The best way to describe it is we have a job to do,” he said shortly before Rosa’s funeral on Tuesday.

“It’s our job to make sure we do it right and that we do it well. It’s those times when it’s quiet that it hits you. There’s no question that this has sent shockwaves through the community.”

Heflin said that the support for Rosa’s family will be ongoing. “We will take care of the family.”

Other firefighting agencies worked shifts throughout the city on Tuesday to allow Long Beach crews to attend the funeral. L.A. City’s department, is working the fireboats,” Heflin said. “We are getting support from the entire fire community.”

And beyond, he added. “The whole city is a family. The whole city is grieving.”

—Melissa Evans and Valerie Osier