Safety first for Cd'A Fire

COEUR d'ALENE - The number one goal of every call the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department responds to, according to Chief Kenny Gabriel, is safety.

And the department's dedication to that goal is earning them national recognition.

Recently the department was presented with the "Life Safety Achievement Award" by the National Association of State Fire Marshals Fire Research and Education Foundation. The award recognizes fire departments that helped reduce the number of lives lost in residential fires in 2013.

"It's awesome," Gabriel said of the award. "We build on the positives and this is an incredibly positive thing not just for the fire department but for the (city) council because they're the ones that give us the tools that allow us to do our jobs. They should be just as proud of this as we are and should take credit just as much."

Gabriel added that there were two reasons why he was so pleased to receive the award - it shows that the department's education and prevention programs are working and that those efforts are keeping the community safe.

"We tend to get a lot of attention when the red fire truck is going down the street and we are pulling hoses," Gabriel said. "But we try to start long before with prevention education to let people know what they have to do to keep safe. So that is always good to see those efforts paying off for us."

The Coeur d'Alene Fire Department focuses its prevention and education on two groups of people - the youth and the elderly - which Gabriel called "the at-risk groups."

"We go to the schools and do the 'Learn Not to Burn' programs," Gabriel said. "Our inspectors, as often as they can, go to nursing homes and try to help them with their escape routes and do extinguisher demonstrations so the staff knows how to do that. We put a great deal of energy into it."

According to the press release, although residential fires in the United States account for 20 percent of all fires, they result in 80 percent of fire-related deaths. As such, Gabriel said every structure fire they are called out to has the potential for danger.

One particularly concerning fire in 2013 was at a home on Fifth Street, Gabriel added.

"There were a number of people living in the home, and it was an older home," he said. "Those homes have more potential to burn and when you don't know how many people are in the home it gives us a great deal of concern. When the fire is really advanced the concern is always 'Is there anybody in there' and that was a concern on that one because we couldn't get into the house right away."

Which, according to Gabriel, is why he is so proud of the fact that the department recorded zero fire deaths in 2013.

"The most important asset in our community is our people," Gabriel said. "When we don't have any of them that are perishing in fire that's just a great success not just for the fire department but for the community as a whole."

While being one of 142 fire departments in the nation to receive the award is an honor, Gabriel said they aren't going to stop building on the foundations that got them the award in the first place.

"We want it (the award) again," Gabriel said. "We train every day. What's tough for us training-wise is that we have a huge gamut of skills we have to be proficient at - from structural firefighting, to technical rescues, to boat operations. Training is at the cornerstone of what we do for our folks."