COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho — One year after two battalion chiefs were shot and killed in an ambush on Canfield Mountain, the fire departments they served are still navigating loss — but say the community has helped carry them through.
Battalion Chiefs John Morrison and Frank Harwood were killed June 29, 2025, while responding to a fire on Canfield Mountain.
Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Pete Holley was appointed to lead the department just weeks after the ambush. Today, he wears a special pin in memory of Battalion Chief Frank Harwood, whom he called a close friend. Holley said stepping into the role meant guiding a department still working through profound loss.
“We were talking about an organization that’s totally grieving, trying to figure out how we’re moving on without one of our most important, valuable employees,” he said.
Holley added that grief does not follow a predictable path. “There’s days where you’re like, okay, I’m in a good place. And then something tomorrow will change that completely,” he said.
Coeur d’Alene Fire Chief Jon Fugitt said mental health has been a top priority for his department over the past year. The department brought in retired firefighters to check on active personnel and expanded peer support programs.
“Over the last year we’ve really increased the awareness of our peer support, but also more outreach to our firefighters,” Fugitt said.
Fugitt said the tragedy also strengthened bonds connecting fire departments across the region. “Firefighters learn rather quickly that the fire service is rather small and we’re one big family, no matter where you go,” he said.
Both chiefs said the events of June 29, 2025, will shape training protocols for years to come. They also credited the broader community with helping their departments through the past year, saying residents’ gestures — large and small — made a meaningful difference.
“Everything from a friendly wave going down the road to literally people stopping and saying, hey, chief, how’s everybody doing? Just those simple check-ins … I don’t think people realize how impactful those can be,” Holley said.
Fugitt said that community support has not wavered. “Still to this day, the community still is doing a great job of coming forward and supporting the men and women of both fire departments,” he said.
The community will have an opportunity to come together to honor Morrison and Harwood at a public memorial service at 10 a.m. June 29 at McCuen Park in Coeur d’Alene.
Family members of the fallen chiefs and firefighters who served alongside them are expected to speak.
This summer, the chiefs’ names were also added to the firefighter memorial at Cherry Hill Park.
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