VIDEO: Fire and EMS crews on the Colville Reservation say the size of the territory, small staffing and long travel times come with unique challenges in protecting its land and its people. Notably, the reservation is twice the size of Rhode Island. NonStop Local met with Fire Chief Chance Cruger and Assistant Chief Richie Gorr of Colville Confederated Tribal Fire & EMS at their station house on the reservation to talk about how serving their community looks different from the Inland Northwest’s urban centers.
“I thought I knew the ins and outs. But when I got out here and its 1.4 million acres and I’m lost at where I’m supposed to go—that was the challenge was how big it was,” said Cruger. Cruger has three years under his belt as Fire Chief for the department, with decades of prior service firefighting in the military. Gorr, who is from the reservation, started with the department 30 years ago.
The duo says they typically staff just two or three people at their fire house at a time, all while handling about 900 calls a year across their massive response area. “It gets rather chaotic,” said Gorr. “But we also thrive in that environment.” While the distance from one end of their service area stays the same, the men say actual drive time across the diverse terrain can vary greatly.
KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane
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