Firefighter: Lynn Lindsey

ROYAL CITY - Lynn Lindsey is a firefighter with Grant County Fire District No. 10. He has advanced first aid training and will often be the driver on ambulance calls for districts Nos. 10 and 11.

Lindsey became a firefighter in 1973 with Chelan County Fire District No. 7. He then served with Chelan No. 8 and Okanogan County Fire District No. 5

At Okanogan 5, Lindsey became the general fire training officer for structure and wild-land fires. He also taught extrication procedures for motor vehicle accidents.

Lindsey served Grant County Fire District No. 8 in the same capacity when he lived and worked in the Mattawa area. When he moved to the Royal Slope and joined Grant County No. 10 in July of 2008, he brought with him a wealth of experience from the other four fire districts he served.

At Okanogan, Lynn was part of the swift water rescue team. Its mission was to save lives by rescuing people whose boats and rafts had overturned in the rapids.

Lindsey volunteered with Chelan No. 7 "to give to the community." He's been a firefighter ever since.

Lindsey's most memorable wildfire:

 "We survived a burn-over while battling a wildfire some years back. The winds whipped the fire into a vortex which moved through the air above us. We had previously done a burn-out to protect structures from the fire. We made it to that already-burned area, and having that area of refuge saved our lives."

Lindsey was the officer in charge of that group.

"The motor vehicle accident which I remember as the worst," Lindsey said, "was a crash between a combine and a pick-up. I had been on numerous fatality accidents before, but this one was the first where an infant perished."

Having served with four other fire districts, Lindsey noted some differences between those and Grant County Fire Districts Nos. 10/11.

"The chief (Brian Evans) is doing some good things to get district 10 and district 11 to work together more," he said. "We have a logistics situation here I have not seen before.

"Before moving to Royal, the farthest I was from a fire station was four miles and that on a 65 mile per hour road. Here I live eight miles away from the fire station and all eight miles are slow roads. It takes time for all of us to get to the station."

"From the comments I get from community members, I feel appreciated for volunteering," Lindsey added. "The people here are thankful for our volunteer ambulance and that we get up in the middle of the night to respond to a call and still have to be to work in the morning."

There are some drawbacks, however. Lindsey noted that a misunderstanding persists about what a Grant County firefighter is.

"It seems like some members of the community still do not understand that we are all volunteers," he said. "We do not have a paid staff that mans the stations 24/7. With each call we have to leave whatever we are doing to respond. We all have full-time jobs to get back to."

The best thing for the public to do to maintain public safety, Lindsey believes, is provide support for these volunteers. He urges people to vote for the fire district and emergency medical services levies that will be up for election on August 16.

"We have to have those funds to continue to provide the level of service we do." Lindsey said. "This is not an increase. This is just a continuation of the existing levy, which expires later this year."

In addition, Lindsey sends out a call for additional volunteers. They are needed, especially those who can respond at night.

"It's time for more members of the community to man up (or woman up) and come help us protect their community, their own homes and families."