Bravery comes in many forms
Garwood Elementary fifth-grader Taylor Howe comes up behind friend and classmate Abby Van Cleve's wheelchair as the girls participate in an agility test with a firehose rope dummy and imaginary smoke Saturday morning at the Northern Lakes Fire District station in Rathdrum. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
Photos: DEVIN WEEKS/Press Firefighter David Sherman encourages Garwood Elementary fifth-grader Abby Van Cleve to test a couple buttons on an ambulance gurney lift Saturday during a visit to the Rathdrum Northern Lakes Fire station. Abby dreams of being a firefighter when she grows up and loves everything about the profession.
Northern Lakes Fire engineer and paramedic Chris Larson teaches fifth-graders Abby Van Cleve, left, and Taylor Howe about firefighter equipment during a visit to the Rathdrum station Saturday morning. Taylor knows Abby wants to be a firefighter and told her mom about her friend's passion, so she connected with Northern Lakes, which gave the young ladies honorary titles and welcomed them to visit whenever they're in the neighborhood. Also pictured: Abby's mom, Jennifer (in red) and firefighter Amanda Tams. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
Northern Lakes Fire District firefighter Amanda Tams reacts as Garwood Elementary fifth-grader Abby Van Cleve has fun controlling the sprayer of a water truck with engineer and paramedic Chris Larson on Saturday morning.
RATHDRUM — Just moments after being inducted into Northern Lakes Fire District as its first and only honorary fire chief, Abby Van Cleve had a burning question for her new firefighter colleagues.
“What time do you guys normally call kids in to put out fires with you?” she asked, sincere and ready to assist.
“That’s a good question,” answered Deputy Fire Marshal Jim Lyon. “What we want to do is keep you safe, so we probably won’t call you in to actually go to a fire, but when you come in and talk to the guys, you can ask them how they did with any fires that week, OK? And make sure they did their job. When you’re 18, you come back in and talk to us.”
Abby, a Garwood Elementary School fifth-grader with cerebral palsy, a mobility disorder, will most certainly follow up with the crew after spending Saturday morning at the station and learning all about the firefighter life. She actually knew a lot about it before visiting the station because she’s always watching firefighter videos and learning as much as she can about this exciting profession.
“I am so excited for her,” said Amy Reynolds, a paraprofessional at Garwood who works one-on-one with Abby. “We won’t get any work done for the rest of the year. She won’t stop talking about it.”
“It means the world to her,” said special education teacher Joan Robinson. “This is probably going to be a day that she will remember for the rest of her life, and we will never stop hearing about it at school,”
Reynolds and Robinson aren’t the only one who know how much Abby wants to be a firefighter. Abby’s classmate, Taylor Howe, has also been a good friend and listener. She picked up on Abby’s firefighting passion and told her mom all about it. Taylor’s mom, Michelle, contacted Northern Lakes to see if they could do a tour or something special for the girls.
The department was completely on board.
“We all have kids and they’re at the bottom of our hearts,” said Capt. Mike Duke. “We love kids.”
Not only did the girls get to tour the Rathdrum station and cruise around in a fire engine with firefighter Amanda Tams, they also received their own personalized helmet shields, official fire department identifications and business cards and some sweet firehouse swag to take home.
And Taylor’s kindness did not go unnoticed — she was also inducted into the fire district as Abby’s honorary deputy fire chief.
“It is my honor and my privilege to welcome you into our fire department family, and you’re now a part of our family. It is the greatest honor that I’ve ever been bestowed as a fire chief to welcome you guys in,” said Northern Lakes Fire Chief Pat Riley as he presented Abby with her helmet shield.
“Also, it was such a moving story when I heard Miss Taylor decided that she was going to tell somebody about Abby’s passion and that we’re here today,” he said, presenting Taylor with her shield. “Every chief needs a trusty assistant, and the best part is, I couldn’t think of somebody more loyal, more dedicated, than a friend who is the assistant. You went forward, you went over and above, and Taylor, that is honorable beyond all measures in my book.”
The special event was a surprise to both girls, who thought they were just going for a tour. Their parents, several of their teachers and Garwood Principal Monique English all attended to share in this exclusive Northern Lakes experience.
“This is all she talks about, is being a firefighter and how she can train, how old she has to be, how long the school is, just constantly asking questions about it,” said Abby’s dad, Greg. “She’s her own little person with a never-give-up attitude, a really brave little girl.”
The girls also participated in an agility test to learn how firefighters move people out of smoky situations and they enjoyed a gear demonstration by firefighter Cody Palmer and firefighter paramedic Burt Maines. Abby even got to control the sprayer of a water truck.
“I’m really excited,” a smiling Taylor said after the presentation ceremony.
Abby said she was feeling “honored, really honored” and she shared her appreciation to Northern Lakes at the end of their special day.
“Thank you for changing my life,” she told them.
Without missing a beat, the crew replied: “Thank you for making ours better.”