Last June, a fire broke out on Canfield Mountain in Coeur d'Alene. As first responders arrived, a man started shooting at them, killing two and injuring a third. Police say the shooter started the fire and ultimately took his own life.
Dustin Miller, the director of the Idaho Department of Lands, spoke this month about the incident during a fire preparedness press conference.
“No matter what the threat is on the fire line, I want people coming home at the end of the day. And so that communication and how we respond is critical.”
Miller said the incident made clear the importance of communication between first responder agencies.
“If we've learned anything from this, it's these partnerships and that constant stream of communication matters.”
The victims were Battalion Chief Frank Harwood of the Kootenai County Fire and Battalion Chief John Morrison of Coeur d’Alene Fire.
Since then, Idaho has implemented incentives to attract and retain firefighters.
“A lot of it is what we do to keep them safe. A lot of it's what we do for hazard pay,” said Idaho Gov. Brad Little at the press conference.
Other incentives include boot allowances and paid R and R.
“We hired all of our fire leadership positions. So we had zero vacancies in our fire leadership, our line positions. So we're, we're excited about some of the things that we've been able to do,” said Miller.
