REGIONAL NEWS ROUNDUP: Kamiah fire agency regroups after series of spring resignations

Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part one, with part two scheduled for Sunday’s Tribune.

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KAMIAH — Kamiah Fire Rescue’s (KFR) new Chief Dan DeMarco is focused on rebuilding the organization after a series of resignations in the spring.

DeMarco relies on Deputy Chief Billy Monahan, Station Captain Vince Missman and mechanic Scott Courtney to work with him as a team. Each brings decades of experience to his role.

“It is humbling to be in this position, to work with these gentlemen, to take care of the families who call 911,” DeMarco said. “That’s the basis of why we enjoy what we’re doing.”

He described the leadership group as four pillars who rely on each other for strength. They are building on KFR’s past successes to take care of people and provide the best medicine they can.

DeMarco joined KFR in the fall of 2020, soon after the fire and ambulance services combined. He has worked for more than 30 years in emergency medicine, primarily as a paramedic, and six years as a firefighter.

Monahan, a retired Los Angeles County firefighter, boasts 38 years of firefighting and search and rescue experience. With 20 years as a captain and 28 years in special operations, he also worked on national and international teams responding to natural disasters.

Courtney, an experienced mechanic, keeps the equipment running and trains KFR staff on using pumps and how to drive and operate various apparatus.

“We wouldn’t be getting out the door without him,” DeMarco said. Courtney, who retired after 32 years with a California fire department, works for KFR as a compensated volunteer.

Missman brings 30 years of experience in wildland and structure fires, including as an assistant Forest Service engine captain and as a Carrot Ridge District volunteer.

“I have some great men I work with. They give me what I need to be successful,” said DeMarco.

With the goal of citizens being comfortable that KFR will take care of them in a timely manner, DeMarco said they have changed how they do business.

“We immediately implemented standards consistent with other departments,” DeMarco said. “Part of the new culture is to lead by example, give people tasks when they are ready, and to delegate, so people take ownership.”

Monahan said KFR has new policies and procedures setting standards for behavior.

“We train core values, integrity, teamwork in addition to firefighter and medical skills,” Monahan said. “We train, build and bond together to become a cohesive fire department that our community expects.”

Monahan acknowledges they have been short-staffed for the past few months.

“Coverage has never stopped through these hard times,” Missman said. Despite working long hours to cover shifts, he said he enjoys coming to work each day. The shortage of people has led everyone to lean on each other.

A focus on recruiting in recent weeks is paying off. DeMarco said KFR has now grown to 18 people, between paid staff and compensated volunteers.

DeMarco said paramedics are a particular shortfall. His promotion to chief means he can serve as a backup, but not as a primary paramedic. One long-term Kamiah EMT is expected to complete paramedic training in a few months and will have a place with KFR.

“We are focusing a lot of attention on building relationships with other adjoining volunteer fire departments and districts, together as equals,” Missman said.

Courtney stressed the importance of districts working together for regional grants. He also helps neighboring fire districts with equipment and training.

“There is no ego in this,” DeMarco said. He explained the importance of getting to know people in other departments as people. “When we meet on an emergency, we are comfortable working together.”

“I have some great men I work with. They give me what I need to be successful and make this department a great experience for anyone who walks in the door,” said DeMarco.

— Naomi Scoggin, East Washingtonian (Pomeroy), Thursday

Power problem led to plane crash

MCCALL, Idaho — A pilot killed in a June 12 airplane crash near McCall Baptist Church noticed a power problem shortly after taking off from the McCall Municipal Airport, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The pilot planned to fly the Cessna R182 airplane back to the airport runway, but could not gain enough altitude to avoid trees south of the runway.

“As the airplane rotated for takeoff, the pilot said, ‘We have a power problem,’” the report said.

Minutes after takeoff, the airplane crashed at 10:29 a.m. about a half-mile from the south end of the airport runway in a wooded area about 100 yards from Stibnite Street.

The pilot and one passenger on board, neither of whom was identified in the report, were both flown by helicopter to hospitals in Boise following the crash.

The pilot later succumbed to his injuries. The passenger survived, but his current condition is unknown.

The cause of the power problem cited by the pilot remains under investigation by the NTSB, which is expected to release a final report on the crash within two years.

The agency’s preliminary findings are based on witness accounts of the accident, analysis of the airplane’s wreckage and an interview of the passenger after the crash.

Witnesses reported to the NTSB that the airplane was struggling to climb after lifting off from the north end of the runway toward downtown McCall.

“They saw the airplane’s nose pitch up and begin to climb, but it did not gain enough altitude to clear the trees that were near the departure end of the runway,” the report said.

The witnesses saw the single-engine airplane hit the top of a pine tree before disappearing out of site.

The airplane struck a pine tree that was between 150 and 175 feet tall before coming to a rest on the ground about 225 feet further north, leaving a debris field in its path.

The pilot and the passenger had flown into McCall the night before the crash as part of a trip to various places around the Pacific Northwest.

The pair was attempting to fly from McCall to the backcountry Indian Creek Airstrip about 50 miles east of McCall.

The airplane involved in the crash was not based in McCall. It was most recently registered to a Longmont, Colo., pilot training company belonging to Shane Warner, according to Federal Aviation Administraion registration records.

Warner previously declined to comment on the crash.

— Drew Dodson, The Star-News (McCall), Thursday