Coeur d'Alene Firefighter Pipes and Drums Seeks $15,000 for National Memorials

When about 150 pipers and drummers converged on Coeur d'Alene last July to honor Battalion Chiefs John Morrison and Frank Harwood, the Coeur d'Alene Firefighter Pipes & Drums suddenly grew from a band of 8 or 12 into something the city had rarely seen. Now the group wants to carry that presence to a national stage, and they need the community's help to get there.

The nonprofit band, founded by members of Coeur d'Alene Firefighters Local 710, is raising about $15,000 to send several members to two major memorials in 2026: the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland, in May, and the International Association of Fire Fighters Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in September.

The fundraising effort received a significant boost when the family of William "Bill" Wright, a division chief from the Timberlake Fire Protection District, donated $5,000 in his memory. The band said that contribution is enough to cover travel to the Maryland event. Tanner Wright, Stacie Ramsay, and Al Ramsay met with band quartermaster Chris Kieres and Pipe Major Jessica Bryant last week to formalize the gift. Stacie Ramsay, Wright's daughter, reflected on the outpouring at her father's own memorial: "It was just amazing, and then to have so many local firefighters and outlying departments come, it was a great honor and he deserved it."

The band will travel to both memorials to honor Morrison and Harwood, the two battalion chiefs shot and killed in an ambush on June 29 after responding to a brush fire on Canfield Mountain. Morrison, 52, served with the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department; Harwood, 42, served with Kootenai County Fire and Rescue. A third firefighter, Coeur d'Alene Fire Department Engineer David Tysdal, 47, was seriously injured in the shooting. The gunman later died at the scene.

The funerals drew musicians from Calgary, Dallas, Las Vegas, Virginia, and Miami, Ohio, swelling the local band's typical roster into a massed procession of roughly 150. "People were surprised at how many people traveled how far," Kieres said. "There's maybe two times out of the year when you'll see that many pipers and drummers in one place."

Kieres also spoke about what Bill Wright meant to the region's fire service: "He was guiding a very young department and was a de facto leader who got thrust into this position."

Despite the city's support for the band as part of the department's honor guard, that funding does not extend to memorial travel. "The city helps support the band as a function of the honor guard, but the city can't fund to send community members to these events," Kieres said. "We maintain a modest bank account that helps pay for uniforms, instruments."

With roughly $10,000 still needed to fund both trips, the band is asking the public to contribute at cdaffpd.org.