Fire Chief Lonnie Rash took over the top position at Spokane County Fire District 8 south of Spokane and Spokane Valley with little fanfare last month after longtime Fire Chief Tony Nielsen retired.
Nielsen was content to leave without a public sendoff, but those who drive by the district’s headquarters inside Station 82 in Valleyford will notice a tribute to Nielsen – a blue street sign marking the driveway that reads “Nielsen Way.”
The district’s board of fire commissioners wanted to do something to honor Nielsen that was meaningful, Rash said. It is a street sign, but it also refers to Nielsen’s way, which was to create a mindset of kindness, understanding and professionalism throughout the district, Rash said.
“It’s not only a way into the fire station, it’s also the way he was in the fire district,” he said.
Neilsen had led the district as chief since 2013, but he’d been working for the district on and off since 1984. He was a part of the district’s Explorer program at the age of 16, and when he turned 18 he became a resident firefighter in the district.