BILLINGS — After two firefighters died and another was injured in a shooting ambush in Couer d’Alene, Idaho, Sunday afternoon, responders nationwide, including in Billings, are expressing sorrow.
“Profound sadness.” That’s how Billings Fire Battalion Chief Jason Lyon described the incident.
Watch local firefighters react to the Idaho ambush:
Lyon knows that incidents like this can happen.
“It does happen, you know, once, twice a year to firefighters across the country,” Lyon said.
He expressed the heartbreak that accompanies such tragedies.
“To have... someone take their lives over that while they're trying to protect the community, protect the environment is really disturbing and really sad,” Lyon said.
Related: 2 killed in sniper ambush as Idaho firefighters come under fire
Authorities in Idaho said they believed a 20-year-old man, identified as Wess Roley, intentionally set a grass fire, then shot at firefighters as they responded. Roley was found dead near the scene of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Alec Clinger, who works at Station 1 in Billings, acknowledges that there are various situations to prepare for in the line of duty.
“You prepare for certain situations, but that one might not be one that you really consider initially when you're going on a call and have it turned into something like that,” Clinger said.
Clinger called the shooting in Idaho a shock.
“It's just surprising because it was directed towards first responders,” Clinger said. “It does make you aware that things like that can happen.”
Firefighters will carry this chilling incident in their minds on their calls going forward.
“It's really hard to respond to a thinking enemy that's, you know, intent on hurting you,” Lyon said.
Despite this tragic event, firefighters say it will not prevent them from taking calls.
“It's so rare that it doesn't really impact the way we do business on a daily basis,” Lyon said.
Watch this video of a Billings woman, who lives part-time in Coeur d'Alene, who is devastated by the firefighter shooting:
