Feb. 10 memorial service set for veteran fire captain, ski patroller
By Eric Valentine
As the last days of January here brought with them mostly uneventful weather conditions for first responders, a winter storm of dark emotion and conflicting thoughts devastated the Valley’s firefighters, paramedics and law enforcement, who discovered that one of the persons needing protection and service the most was one of their own. By the afternoon of Jan. 31, Wood River Fire & Rescue reported the news that its captain and paramedic Tom White—in an apparent suicide—was found dead in Lincoln County. He was 50 years old.
White leaves behind both parents, a sister, a wife, and three children along with an extended family and work families within the first-responder community. In addition to White’s three decades of firefighting service, the Mount Hood, Ore., native also worked the local ski patrol since 2003.
“Favorite thing about the job?” reads White’s roster bio for the Sun Valley ski patrol. “First run, last run, everything in between,” White answered.
The fire department’s public announcement kept things far more matter-of-fact, simply thanking all the law enforcement agencies in the region for sharing information that enabled WRFR personnel to locate White.
“We are also very thankful to our partner fire/EMS agencies in Blaine County who have stepped up so compassionately to help us staff and serve the county while we heal and make funeral preparations for our brother,” the WRFR announcement said after asking to give White’s devastated loved ones privacy during this time.
WRFR later added a thank you to the hundreds of folks who had reached out in various ways, from food to flowers to express their sympathy.
By Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 6:43 a.m., that same extended family of White’s could be seen putting out a commercial structure fire at south River Street in Hailey. Fire Chief Ron Bateman said units arrived on scene within minutes and found an active fire in a portion of the structure, extending into a couple of adjacent vehicles.
Initial reports received were that a driver was unaccounted for and firefighters made entry to search the structure. The driver was located outside and safe. The fire was knocked down in about half an hour. According to Bateman’s press release, units will remain on scene for most of the day and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
The Ripple Effect
Within the online resources of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the idea of a pebble being tossed into a pond is used as an analogy. The pebble represents the suicide itself and that first round circular wave is all the loved ones from nuclear family to extended family to longtime co-workers.
But that pebble causes far more waves than just that initial one. It’s not a stretch to say an entire community can be forever changed. And according to one recent study, NAMI says, it was estimated that 115 people are exposed to a single suicide. There is no singular solution to this preventing suicide or one’s exposure to it, but NAMI makes it clear the body of evidence suggests there’s one thing that certainly helps: sharing your story.
On NAMI’s website, a special page (notalone.nami.org) is devoted to the sharing of stories (in text, video, or photos) from those impacted by suicide. The stories can be tragic. The stories can end happily. Or, as White himself put it, “everything in between.” Seeing there is a shared experience is the precursor to knowing one is not alone. And perhaps that will be a community’s first response now.