A veteran investigator, a respected mentor and a skilled technician — the t hree arson investigators killed in an explosion at the Biscailuz Center in East LA were remembered as the “best of our department” by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department leaders.

Eklund, Victor Lemus and William Osborn were killed in an explosion Friday. They collectively held 74 years of law enforcement experience and leave behind 16 children between them.

Three veteran Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department members assigned to the agency’s arson and explosives detail were killed Friday morning by an explosion at a department training facility, according to Sheriff Robert Luna.