CDA firefighters overwhelmed with city’s growth, outsourcing calls to nearby departments

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — Firefighters in Coeur d’Alene are stretched thin, they are having to pick and choose which calls they answer.

In 2024, CDA Fire broke a department record with over 10,000 service calls, a 35% increase in just 10 years.

Much of the strain has to do with the rapid growth the city is experiencing.

“As we have more growth in the city, we have more fires that we respond to, more medical incidents that we respond to. So those same number of resources get stretched more and more every year,” said CDAFD Operation Deputy Chief, Jeff Sells.

Six CDAFD firefighters responded to more than 1,000 calls last year, which averages out to about three calls a day.

“The most important thing for us in taking care of our community is being able to take care of each other,” Chief Sells said.

To combat the strain, CDAFD is dividing the work up with other local first responders.

“We have professional firefighters headed your way, whenever you pick up the phone,” CDAFD said Public Information Officer, Craig Etherton.

The department said the response time could be delayed if your call is answered by another local department that is farther away.

CDAFD wants to hear from you about how you think they should go about planning for the future. To share your feedback, you can take the online survey here.