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CDA Fire donates ladder truck to NIC Workforce Training

NIC Trustee Tarie Zimmerman speaks with CDA Fire Deputy Chief Bill Deruyter and Trustee Brad Corkill as they stand beside a ladder truck the department donated to the NIC Workforce Training Center.

The Coeur d’Alene Fire Department recently handed over to the North Idaho College Workforce Training Center the keys to one of its ladder trucks, giving students the chance to learn with a piece of equipment few colleges in the nation can claim. 

“This is the first ladder truck the city of Coeur d’Alene ever staffed as a front-line apparatus,” Fire Chief Tom Greif said during a Sept. 13 ceremony marking the donation. “It’s being retired from service, but it still has a lot of life left in it. Now it will help train more firefighters we can hire in the years ahead.” 

The truck, a 1999 model, will be used by students in NIC’s Firefighter 1 Academy, a program that has prepared future first responders for more than 15 years. 

“We are where first responders get trained,” NIC President Nick Swayne said. “At NIC, we train fire, we train EMT, we train nurses, and we train police and detention center folks. Having a ladder truck makes NIC one of the only colleges in the country with this kind of training equipment.” 
 
NIC Trustee Brad Corkill said the donation is indicative of the generosity of the city of Coeur d’Alene.  

“And the fire department here is just unbelievable,” Corkill said.  

“We are grateful,” said Trustee Tarie Zimmerman. “It will be well-used and deeply appreciated.”  

The gift comes as the city prepares to update its fleet and facilities. In May, Coeur d’Alene voters approved a $16.4 million bond to fund critical upgrades, including fire apparatus. A new ladder truck can cost anywhere from $1.2 million to $2.5 million depending on specifications. 

Greif said partnerships like the one between the city and the college are an example of what makes the community strong. 

The ladder truck will now begin its second career with NIC’s Workforce Training Center, where it will help prepare the next generation of firefighters. 

For more information about the North Idaho College Workforce Training Center’s programs for first responders, visit nic.edu/emergencyservices and for the North Idaho College Patrol Academy, visit nic.edu/programs/law-enforcement.