Cd’A considers opening fire department to families
Alex Capaul of Kootenai Fire (second from left) is part of a long line of local firefighters. He gathered with (from left) cousin Mitchell Copstead of Kootenai Fire, father Ken Capaul of Spokane Valley Fire, uncle Bob Capaul of Kootenai Fire and cousin Justin Capaul, battalion chief for Kootenai Fire, to mourn the passing of Alex’s grandfather, Ray, in 2017. Ray was a firefighter, as well, serving the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department.
Photo courtesy of Heidi Capaul
Alex Capaul knows something about fighting with his family.
“Where does it come from?” the firefighter/paramedic for Kootenai County Fire and Rescue asked. “I think it comes from a family that just wants to help and serve in the community we live in. That’s really all there is to it.”
That commitment to fight fires gives the Capaul family a unique perspective on a new local policy proposal. In 2014, Capaul joined with his long lineage of family firemen when he joined Kootenai Fire. The family tradition dates back to his great-grandfather, George, who in 1939 became Coeur d’Alene’s first paid firefighter. His grandfather, Ray, followed in those same footsteps when he joined Coeur d’Alene Fire, as did his father, Ken, a battalion chief for Spokane Valley Fire. One uncle, Scott, served in Burien, Wash., while another uncle, Bob, was a lieutenant for Kootenai Fire. And if that isn’t enough, three of his cousins currently serve in Kootenai Fire.
“I grew up watching my dad getting ready and going to work,” Alex recalled. “I used to get up in the morning with him, watch him get ready, and then go back to bed when he’d leave for work. I loved it.”
Coeur d’Alene city policy prohibits such a tradition, as family members are not allowed to serve in the same departments. That policy might change, however, as city council will evaluate the merits of building family legacies within its fire department.
“In years past, there have been family members that came through in the fire service,” Craig Etherton, spokesman for the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, told The Press. “Our chief (Ken Gabriel) recognized the rules not allowing a parent to be in charge of his or her kid, and he also recognized the value of having that family legacy. So he took a deeper look into it.”
That investigation found that many cities — from Spokane to Lewiston to Boise and beyond — allowed such an exception. Department heads took the matter to the Civil Service Committee, which decided to recommend a similar exception to Coeur d’Alene.
“This is something we’ve looked at for a while,” Etherton said. “This started to come into the forefront through our cadet program.”
That cadet program, which is offered to seniors in high schools, affords students the opportunity to learn trade skills, work in fire stations and explore their passions for careers in firefighting. But department leaders noted that some cadets who entered the program have family members who serve in Coeur d’Alene Fire.
“Some of those kids are our members’ kids,” Etherton said. “The way the rules are, they could learn from us, but because they had someone in their family who was a member, they then had to go look to another department, rather than follow in their dad’s footsteps.”
The civil service rules actually don’t speak to family members serving in the same department. But city personnel rules state that two family members can’t both serve in the same department — fire or otherwise — under any circumstances.
Tuesday’s presentation by Melissa Tosi, human resources director for the city, will recommend to council to amend that rule that disqualifies otherwise-qualified candidates from joining the fire department. Specifically, the amendment enforces the intent to build family legacies within the city’s fire stations while adding that the department will do everything possible to ensure one family member will not oversee another.
The amendment would only impact the fire department. The matter will come to a vote Tuesday night. Mayor Steve Widmyer championed the notion.
“Historically, there have been many generational firefighters,” he said. “It goes from grandfather to father to son. Being a firefighter is in their blood. All the necessary checks and balances are in place, and it’s proven to be a successful program.”
Alex Capaul, meanwhile, said family can teach firefighters as much as firefighters can teach one another, making the potential for a policy change one that’s a long time coming.
“I think having firefighters in the family can teach others about the importance of tradition,” he said, “of the love of the job, of making a career out of it, of the love of a fire department. I think it’s something they should open up. If firefighting is something somebody has a passion for, they should be free to move forward with it, especially if they have a family perspective to share.
“After all, it’s the best job in the world,” Capaul said.