SOFD thanks chief for dedication, service

How do you spell fire chief? People in the Sam Owen Fire District have spelled it B-O-B W-A-T-H-E-N for the last 15 years. Now we will all have to learn to spell it differently because Bob Wathen is retiring.

Wathen has been the district’s first and only fire chief since it was founded in 2002. He has been the public face of the Sam Owen Fire Department and an ambassador for fire protection and public safety since the district was founded in 2002. Under his leadership the district has grown from a fledgling fire department with six firefighters to a full-service fire and rescue operation serving an area of 200 square miles.

Chief Wathen has led by example. One of his guiding principles was to recognize that all the personnel are volunteers and not to overload them. “I wouldn’t expect anyone to do what I wouldn’t do myself.” His other principle was to listen and take input from the firefighters before making a decision since “they were the ones doing all the work.” His ability to listen and an open door policy for volunteers and public alike have been key ingredients in the high morale among the volunteer firefighters.

When asked what accounts for his extraordinary dedication for so long, Wathen summarized: “It’s takes a lot of hard work, a lot of training; but as soon as you get into it and respond to your first fire, it grabs you or you don’t stay. It gets in your blood.” Obviously, that was Wathen’s experience and the entire community in the Sam Owen Fire District is grateful that it was.

Wathen’s biggest challenge when he started as fire chief was that he now had two jobs. He was working full-time as a supervisor of operations for Avista at Cabinet Gorge and Noxon Rapids Dams when he assumed the responsibilities as fire chief in 2002. Growing the district was also a challenge.

“When we founded the Sam Owen Fire District we had nothing except six firefighters,” Wathen said. “We had a small budget and two used fire engines that we had gotten at a really good price. To improve our fire rating, which has always been a goal of the district, we had to build a station and get all the equipment required by the state of Idaho.”

And grow the district they did, expanding from just the Sam Owen Peninsula to a district that serves the entire east end of Lake Pend Oreille.

Learning to live with a husband who is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week was a big adjustment for Teri Wathen, Bob’s wife of 49 years. “It was a challenge at first,” she admits, “but you learn to roll with it. And you hope that when you plan something, he doesn’t get a call.”

At one time Bob Wathen was responding to 150-180 advanced life support calls per year as well as every fire.

Teri Wathen reflected on her husband’s tenure as fire chief. “It was a lot of time out of our lives, but it doesn’t seem like it’s been 15 years.” She summarized her experience as wife of the Sam Owen Firechief saying, “The people who volunteer for the fire department are the greatest group of people. If we hadn’t been involved, I wouldn’t have gotten to know them.”

Sam Owen Fire District is hosting an open house reception for Bob Wathen, our first and only fire chief since 2002. It will be held on Sunday, Oct. 1 from 1-3 p.m. at Fire Station #1 at the junction of Highway 200 and Peninsula Road. Everyone is invited to stop by for cake and ice cream and thank Bob for 15 years of dedication and service. Even though he will continue to serve our community as fire commissioner, he will be sorely missed as fire chief.