Retired fire chief reflects on memorable career

After spending nearly a quarter century with the Kalispell Fire Department, Chief Dave Dedman headed into retirement.

Dedman was named chief on Jan. 4, 2012, leading the company for nearly a decade. He has many recollections of the various types of calls he answered in his time with the department, including the humorous, inspirational and tragic. He also shared his thoughts about his career and leaving the department.

“It’s a good time to go,” Dedman said in a Daily Inter Lake interview. “I’m looking forward to enjoying the summer with my family and it’s something I haven’t been able to do for many years.”

Dedman is thankful to the community members of Kalispell and the Flathead Valley for his career.

“I want to thank the community for being able to live here, have a career here and raise my children here,” he said. “It’s a big deal to me.”

Certainly, the work and life of a first responder doesn’t often lend itself to enjoying time off, particularly while leading an entire department. But the job does provide opportunities to be a part of things most people may never get the chance to experience.

“No day is routine,” Dedman said. “We’ve had to extract a child who was stuck in a swing set, we’ve rescued baby ducks from a busy street, we’ve helped on a few black bears, too.”

One of the more memorable incidents was an attempt to corral a nearly blind hawk named “Hawkeye.”

“It was a captive bird and a wind storm had knocked over its cage, allowing him to get out,” Dedman recalled. “Fish and Game was trying to capture it and one of their volunteers thought maybe we could help with the ladder truck.”

Unfortunately the first attempt was a bust because the bird of prey was perched higher in the tree than could be safely reached and it soon departed.

“But about eight hours later, the bird was located in another tree and this time, we were able to grab it,” Dedman said. “That was pretty fun.”

While some may think firefighters’ responsibilities are limited to a burning building or home, the vast majority of calls involve those for medical service, which include falls, heart attacks, traffic accidents and myriad health-related issues.

“One time I was at a public function and a man approached me, gave me a hug and thanked me for saving his life,” Dedman said. “He had a heart attack and to know he’s alive and well was amazing.”

DEDMAN SAID the tragic calls, those involving children and people who have lost their lives, can overshadow the good memories.

“You see a lot of tragic death and loss,” he said. “It may be a terminal cancer patient you’ve gotten to know or a child, and some are more difficult than others to cope with, but it’s part of what we do.”

There have been more than a few calls some may consider odd.

“We’ve had a few planes fly into buildings and we’ve had some gas explosions which destroyed homes,” Dedman said.

One of the homes destroyed in an explosion was a delayed reaction, which was extremely fortuitous for the owners. It occurred nearly a decade ago.

“The man was out hunting and his wife was also gone,” Dedman said. “Some time before, a bullet had pierced the gas line, but it didn’t explode right away. Unbelievably, there were no injuries because no one was at home.”

According to a previous Daily Inter Lake story, the home belonged to Art and Diane Wright.

Art was hunting and Diane was at the grocery store, an unplanned stop at the end of a morning of errands.

“I was on my way home from the grocery store and I got a phone call from the neighbor. He said your house just blew up,” Diane said at the time. “I just started shaking and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know where to start because it’s such an overwhelming feeling.”

It was later confirmed the cause of the gas leak was incredibly improbable.

On the morning of Oct. 22, at about 5:45 a.m., Art was getting familiar with a new rifle when he accidentally fired it into the floor of the home, rupturing a gas line.

Dedman said then “Statistically, it’s a one-in-a-million shot if that’s the case.”

KEEPING UP with the growth of technology and the population in the valley have been the biggest challenges, he said.

“It’s just so fast,” he said about the burgeoning number of people living here compared to 25 years ago. “A lot of things were old school when I started, but the technology has grown as fast as the population.”

He said it is also harder to fight fires because so many different items are made with petroleum products. The department also has had to keep up with changes in para medicine, rescue and dealing with hazardous materials.

“When I first started [in 1997] fighting fire was much simpler and really, everything else was, too,” Dedman said. “We have a lot of baby boomers and retirees in the valley and they keep us very busy.”

Dedman said he will miss helping people and the people he works with, but he won’t miss the pace of the work.

“There’s a lot of camaraderie with our people and they truly are a second family, so not being around that will be hard,” Dedman said. “But I won’t miss the pace and the daily business, the struggles of keeping up with maintaining certifications and funding.”

He said he is also pleased with the choice the city made for his replacement — Dan Pearce.

“I’m very excited for him, I’ve worked with him and had a lot of respect for him,” Dedman said. “He’ll do well.”

Dedman said his desire to be challenged had a lot to do with his advancement to chief.

“I like a challenge, but I’ve also been lucky, too.”

When summer is over, Dedman said he will go into business for himself as an upholsterer.

“It was always a hobby for me, one I enjoyed very much,” he said.

But first will be some well-deserved and much-needed time with family.

“My youngest son and my stepdaughter just graduated high school and are headed to college and I’m really excited for them and spending time with family this summer.”

Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or shindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.