Two Firefighters Killed in Shooting at Coeur d'Alene, ID, Brush Fire

The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has confirmed that two Coeur d’Alene firefighters were killed when Sunday afternoon during an active shooter incident at a brush fire near Canfield Mountain in Coeur d’Alene.

"While responding to a fire earlier today in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, IAFF members were ambushed in a heinous act of violence. Two of our brothers were killed by a sniper, and a third brother remains in surgery," the IAFF sent out on X Sunday evening.

According to KHQ.com, SWAT teams located a deceased male on Canfield Mountain. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said there was a gun near the man's body.

The shelter-in-place order that went out after the shooting has been lifted, the sherrif's office said.

Firefighters from Kootenai County Fire & Rescue and Coeur d’Alene Fire Department were called to a brush fire at 1:21 p.m. and around 2 p.m. firefighters reported that they were being shot at. 

In chilling fireground radio traffic, a member calls out frantically: "We need law enforcement right now, there is an active shooter...everyone is shot up here...551, Tender 14...stop, get out of the way. Tender 14, 551, do not come up here!"

"I'm pinned down behind Battalion 1's rig...it is intentional to me that this fire was set to draw us in," another firefighter calls over the radio. 

During the 4:30 p.m. press conference, Norris said "We are actively taking fire as we speak...this is an active situation." 

"We have an unknown amount of casualties," Sheriff Bob Norris said during a press conference. "We still have civilians that are coming off of that mountain. We might have civilians that are stuck or in shock on that mountain, so this is a very, very fresh situation."

"Right now, we're developing a plan...once we get that under control, when we have an opportunity to suppress that (threat), then we will continue our removing people who are on the mountain who are on for a hike, our public safety people and those who live on the backside of the mountain."

“We don’t know if there’s one, two, three or four,” Norris said, adding that the shots were from "modern-day...high-powered rifles." He suggested that it, "is likely to be a multiday operation."

"My immediate reaction was completely heartbroken," Northern Lakes Fire District Chief Pat Riley told KHQ.com. "We trained for this. You never want to see it in your own community."