Fire officials, mayor reflect on ‘dedicated’ Idaho firefighters who will ‘shine brightly in our memory’

POST FALLS (The Spokesman Review) — The two firefighters who were shot and killed by a gunman on Canfield Mountain were “dedicated public servants” with decades of experience, fire officials said at a news conference Monday.

Kootenai County Fire & Rescue’s Frank Harwood, 42, and Coeur d’Alene Fire Department’s John Morrison, 52, were responding to a wildfire Sunday afternoon when authorities say they were ambushed by 20-year-old Wess Roley. Both were battalion chiefs.

David Tysdal, a 47-year-old engineer with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, was also shot and still in critical condition Monday afternoon at Kootenai Health, according to Coeur d’Alene Fire Chief Tom Greif.

RELATED | Two firefighters killed in ‘ambush-style’ shooting east of Coeur d’Alene

RELATED | The man accused of killing 2 Idaho firefighters had once aspired to be one

“Yesterday was one of the most absolute darkest days that either one of these organizations has ever faced,” Greif said.

Greif, Kootenai County Fire & Rescue Chief Chris Way and other fire officials identified the firefighters and honored them Monday afternoon during a news conference at Kootenai County Fire & Rescue’s headquarters in Post Falls.

Way told reporters Harwood was a 17-year member of the department. He was married with two children and was a former combat engineer with the Army National Guard.

“Chief Harwood was a leader in our organization,” Way said. “He did an amazing job. He was a shift commander. He was well-respected by his shift. This loss is felt by so many, including all the members of his shift that worked and saw the incident yesterday.”

Greif said Morrison started his career with Coeur d’Alene Fire in 1996. He held the ranks of firefighter engineer, captain, paramedic and battalion chief.

Tysdal, a 23-year veteran of the fire department, had “two successful surgeries” and was surrounded by family at the hospital, Greif said.

He read a statement from a Tysdal family member that said, “We thank everyone for their love and support. Dave is surrounded by his family, and he is able to open his eyes, and his two surgeries have gone well.”

Gabe Eckert, president of the labor union Coeur d’Alene Firefighters International Association of Fire Fighters Local 710, told reporters Morrison and Tysdal were hard workers who loved their families.

He said his last interaction with Morrison was two weeks ago when the two had a lull at the fire station. So, they smoked cigars and chatted on the back patio.

“We talked about being better fathers, we talked about being better leaders, we talked about being better firefighters,” Eckert said. “I just want to say I am so incredibly grateful that that gets to be my last memory with him. So if there’s anything you guys take away from this, I want you to know these were dedicated men, and they were dedicated to this community.”

“We still are in shock and are struggling to understand why someone would target unarmed selfless public servants.”

Justin Zabel, president of IAFF Local 2856 in Kootenai County, said the “tragedy does not define our community.”

“What’s often overlooked in times like these is the overwhelming love and support we receive from the people we serve,” said Zabel, who was choked up when speaking Monday.

He said the two fallen firefighters “made the ultimate sacrifice.”

“The men and women of Local 710 and Local 2856 will continue to answer that call because it’s who we are and it’s how we honor the memory of our brothers who gave their lives doing the job they loved in service to others,” Zabel said.

Coeur d’Alene Mayor Woody McEvers offered his sympathy on behalf of city residents to the families of those killed in the line of duty.

“What they are going through is incredibly hard and heart-wrenching,” he said. “I want ’em to know that we’re thinking of them.”

McEvers thanked law enforcement, fire agencies and other first responders from the local to federal level who worked hard and “heroically” to deal with an “event that was so unprecedented in our community,” McEvers said.

“We still are in shock and are struggling to understand why someone would target unarmed selfless public servants,” he said.

Greif said the fire agencies are focused on providing support to the three firefighters’ families, as well as offering mental health resources to firefighters and their families.

Fire officials thanked the fire and law enforcement agencies that responded to the “unimaginable and thinkable tragedy,” as Way stated. They also thanked the outpouring of support from the community. Eckert said the community has provided food, cards and offers to help during the fire agencies’ time of sorrow.

“The community support has been nothing short of amazing, and all the agencies involved will be needing every bit of that moving forward as we have a long road ahead of us,” Greif said.

Law enforcement believe Roley started the 26-acre fire to lure firefighters into an ambush. Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and Kootenai County Fire and Rescue crews arrived at 1:21 p.m. to the report of the blaze and found Roley. The firefighters asked Roley to move his truck.

At 2 p.m., fire crews reported they were being shot.

“There was pre-incident contact with the suspect by our firefighters upon their arrival, but it was minimal contact, and there was certainly no criminal or suspected activity as a result of that,” Way said.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris told reporters at a different Monday news conference that there was evidence Roley wanted to be a firefighter at one point, but there was no evidence it had anything to do with the attack.

Way said Kootenai County Fire & Rescue never had contact with Roley before. He never applied for or tested for a position at the fire agency, he said.

As for any contact between Coeur d’Alene Fire and the suspect, Greif said officials are looking into that question but could not verify any of it Monday.

The attack on firefighters was rare but not unheard of.

Way said officials will do a “deep dive into what happened” as it relates to evaluating the agency’s policies and procedures. He said the investigation is still unfolding, and they are learning new details “hour by hour.”

“This, unfortunately, was another routine call until it wasn’t,” Way said.

He said the fire agency trains for active shooters.

“But this wasn’t an active shooter call,” Way said. “The initial response was to a wildland-urban interface brush fire on the side of the mountain. So, again, we saw smoke showing, and we went in like we do all the time and attacked the fire, and then unfortunately, we got attacked. As the sheriff said very well last night, the way they were attacked and ambushed, they never had a chance.”