Better Gear? Mental Health Training? How To Protect Firefighters After Idaho Ambush

Fire-rescue experts are evaluating further information measures successful nan aftermath of nan June 29 ambush during a occurrence telephone that near 2 firefighters dormant and 1 injured successful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Yet arsenic nan nationalist chimes successful pinch solutions, first responders pass that immoderate ideas could unintentionally make firefighters’ jobs much difficult. Plus, adding accent to a firefighter’s occupation tin bring pinch it a 2nd activity of complications and dangers, experts told Straight Arrow News.

Immediate nationalist consequence centered astir intelligence wellness and guns: While immoderate organizations, specified arsenic Everytown for Gun Safety, criticized Idaho’s weapon laws and nan state’s precocious complaint of weapon violence, others projected arming firefighters and allowing them to motorboat weapon training academies.

In 2023, Harrisonburg, Virginia, began outfitting its firefighters pinch assemblage armor arsenic portion of protocol. Members of nan Harrisonburg occurrence and constabulary departments besides engaged successful progressive shooter and firearms training successful 2022, a believe that continued into 2025.

However, standardizing nan usage of firearms and assemblage armor successful occurrence departments presents its ain challenges.

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Should firefighters deterioration assemblage armor?

Myke Cole, a threat intelligence expert and warfare historiographer who besides serves arsenic a unpaid firefighter, told SAN that adding weapons to regular fire-rescue cogwheel could escalate conflicts and summation beingness stress. 

“The leaf itself incites violence,” Cole said, quoting from Homer’s “The Odyssey.”

He said that nan beingness of firearms astatine fire-rescue scenes could perchance “vastly increase” unit alternatively than forestall it. He added that while assemblage armor mightiness look for illustration a bully idea, it besides poses challenges.

“The problem pinch assemblage armor is power stress,” said Cole. 

For assemblage armor to beryllium effective against sniper attacks, Cole said firefighters would request nan thickest, heaviest and astir durable thorax plates disposable connected nan market. Fire-rescue officials are concerned this could summation nan risks of power changeable and bosom strain to firefighters who already deterioration a batch of protective cogwheel successful nan utmost temperatures of fires. 

Adding much beingness accent to a firefighter’s consequence tin easy beryllium deadlier than nan consequence of being attacked. According to a 2024 study by nan National Fire Protection Association, 30 firefighters person been killed by weapon unit successful nan statement of work since 1990, accounting for 2% of each fire-rescue deaths during that time. Overexertion is simply a acold much pervasive origin of concern: In 2024, 42 firefighters died of accent aliases overexertion successful nan statement of duty, accounting for 58% of on-duty deaths successful 2024. 

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What kinds of existing exertion tin thief firefighters enactment safe?

The reply doesn’t person to dishonesty successful buying much gear, Cole said. Rather, occurrence departments tin usage exertion they already person successful a different tactical way. For instance, dispatchers tin usage drones to scout an area, past nonstop information notifications to firefighters’ iPads, which astir departments already usage for regular operations.

“The very first point you’re expected to do connected a segment is simply a 360 — size up your occupation earlier you spell to work,” Cole said.

Many firefighting agencies person standardized 360s arsenic a information measurement earlier heading to a occurrence scene, to cheque for risks specified arsenic progressive shooters, suspicious activity aliases different situation-specific problems. Sometimes these checks are skipped erstwhile location aren’t capable squad members to complete them successful a timely manner.

Beyond applicable steps, Cole urges greater accent connected de-escalation training, which first-response analysts opportunity is “limited” successful their statement of work. A canvass earlier this twelvemonth recovered only 6% of firefighters study they person received general de-escalation training from their departments. 

“A batch of this unit erupts erstwhile group are stressed out,” Cole said. “Firefighters request to study really to beryllium successful a narration pinch personification successful utmost suffering.”

As departments astir nan state look for lessons from nan Idaho event, Cole said he hopes they zero successful connected accrued training astir intelligence health, which he said is “desperately” needed successful nan field. 

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Can focusing connected intelligence wellness thief support firefighters safe?

Prevention strategies are often clearer successful hindsight. But erstwhile Coeur d’Alene first responder David Faller said it is important to see really amazed firefighters were by nan “unprecedented” attack. 

“These firefighters did precisely what they are expected to do during a fire,” Faller said, adding that nan Coeur d’Alene firefighters received nary informing signals alerting them to a imaginable ambush. 

Given nan rarity of shooters targeting firefighters, Faller said it would beryllium easier for a driver to hole beforehand for a “head-on collision pinch a drunk driver,” which claims much than 8,000 American lives a year. 

“The only existent point we tin do is nonstop rule enforcement connected scene,” Faller told SAN, adding that dispatching officers to each segment could trim efficiency. He said firefighters successful Coeur d’Alene have, for now, accrued their consciousness of imaginable attacks and requested a constabulary beingness erstwhile responding to wildfires. However, Faller cautioned that hypervigilance for early weapon threats would beryllium cost-prohibitive.

While fire-rescue teams statement nan worth successful constabulary escorts to fire-rescue scenes successful immoderate situations, Faller said nan rumor successful nan Coeur d’Alene lawsuit was much of a societal problem. He emphasized nan request for greater intelligence wellness awareness.

“The betrayal of this individual shooting firefighters is incomprehensible,” said Jeff Dill, a 35-year occurrence work seasoned and spokesperson for nan Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance, a nonprofit that develops and implements strategies for improving firefighters’ intelligence wellness care.

Dill said that 1 awesome consequence to firefighters from nan fallout of nan Coeur d’Alene shooting is civilized wounded — a intelligence wellness information nan National Center for PTSD describes arsenic heavy psychological symptom from “traumatic aliases unusually stressful circumstances.”