ID Fire Chief, Union Apologize for Post Aimed at Airport Staff

Jun. 22—A letter of apology was sent to the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport Authority board after a social media post about the transportation hub assuming responsibility this fall for initial response in commercial passenger airline crashes, now handled by the Lewiston Fire Department.

Lewiston Firefighters Union Local 1773 posted a video May 17 from a live burn training that day in Moses Lake, according to Lewiston Fire Chief Travis Myklebust, who wrote the letter of apology.

The post was removed at his request and handled as a personnel matter, Myklebust said. The Tribune was unable to view the post before deletion.

The matter was discussed at a Tuesday meeting of the airport authority board, where Airport Director Mike Isaacs provided an update about training for the transition on Oct. 1.

The union was told that some may have taken offense to the use of "maintenance worker" to refer to the employees taking over the duties, according to a statement issued by the union Tuesday in a response to the Tribune's request for comment.

"It was never our intent to disrespect the hard-working employees of the airport, and out of respect for our fellow laborists, and the working relationship with the airport authority and (Myklebust), we removed the post," according to the union statement.

Still the union's local leadership feels the change is not in the community's best interest, according to the statement.

"Local 1773 will always advocate for having the highest trained professionals responding to our community in their time of need," according to the statement. "...We continue to hope those in decision-making positions will find a resolution that meets the community's needs while maintaining a cost-effective emergency response to the airport."

The firefighters union didn't discuss the social media post with the fire department's administration team or Lewiston Mayor Dan Johnson before it went live, and it wasn't the opinion of the fire department or the city of Lewiston, Myklebust wrote in his letter of apology.

"As your fire chief, I am committed to making the transition a success for both parties and we will continue to work together so that those flying into our airport are as protected as they can be," he wrote.

Starting Oct. 1, an airport employee, instead of a Lewiston firefighter, will staff a firetruck at the airport 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after commercial passenger and charter flights of 30 passengers or more.

The individual will be responsible for an initial attack on a fire if a plane were to crash, dousing flames around exits so as many passengers as possible could deplane safely before municipal firefighters and ambulance crews arrived.

Six airport employees, including Isaacs, recently completed 40 hours of instruction in Helena, Mont., that involved classroom training as well as drills in which they extinguished fires in cockpits, bathrooms and passenger cabins of aircraft.

The Lewiston Fire Department will provide additional monthly training to the group, Isaacs said.

The change, which complies with all Federal Aviation Administration rules, is anticipated to save the airport money.

The airport is spending $144,000 on training and equipment in start-up costs and anticipates that it will cost an additional $57,000 per year for the service. That compares with the $119,000 annually the airport has been paying the city of Lewiston.

Williams may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 848-2261.

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