Idaho Law Guarantees $500,000, Annual Pension for Fallen First Responder Families

Nine months after a gunman killed two firefighters on Coeur d'Alene's Canfield Mountain, Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 642 into law Tuesday at the Idaho Fallen Firefighters Memorial Park in Boise, guaranteeing surviving spouses of fallen public safety officers a $500,000 payment and an annual pension of at least $75,000.

The targeted attack on June 29, 2025 claimed the lives of Battalion Chief Frank Harwood of Kootenai County Fire & Rescue and John Morrison of the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department, and left 11 others with significant injuries. The legislation HB 642 replaces closes a gap that Pete Holley, Fire Chief of Kootenai County Fire & Rescue, said left families without meaningful protection. Under previous law, Holley explained, a line-of-duty death was treated as if the officer "retired the day before they died," making families eligible for retirement benefits but not the one-time and ongoing benefits tied to catastrophic injury. HB 642 equalizes the two.

"I spoke with Mrs. Harwood and this doesn't lighten her loss," Holley said. "It doesn't do anything to make the events on Canfield any easier to navigate, but it reduces the level of uncertainty as you navigate the future."

If no surviving spouse exists, dependent children are eligible for the $500,000 payment. The law takes effect July 1 and retroactively applies to 2021, meaning four officers who died in the line of duty since then will receive benefits: Harwood, Morrison, Ada County Sheriff Deputy Tobin Bolter, and Caldwell Fire Deputy Chief Brad Trosky-Johnson.

The law is funded entirely by Idaho's public safety community, not the state general fund. Holley framed that distinction pointedly: "Public safety officers in Idaho chose to fund this benefit themselves. That is not a policy decision; that is a statement of values. It tells every officer, every deputy, every firefighter in this state that their brothers and sisters have their backs, even in the worst moments imaginable."

Gabe Eckert, President of IAFF Local 710, the Coeur d'Alene Professional Firefighters, attended the signing alongside personnel from Kootenai County Fire & Rescue and the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department. "Our members put on their gear every day, understanding the risks," Eckert said. "The fact that public safety officers in this state chose to fund these protections themselves speaks to the character of the men and women who serve the citizens of the State of Idaho."

Matthew Smith, Vice President of the Professional Firefighters of Idaho, which played a central role in passing the bill, called HB 642 "an important step forward." "When tragedy strikes, those left behind will not stand alone," Smith said at the ceremony, which was attended by surviving family members of public safety officers.

The bill passed unanimously with bipartisan support in both chambers of the Idaho Legislature. Governor Little noted the role families play in sustaining public safety officers. "The families are such an integral part of it," he said. "There's very few people in public safety that don't have a strong family and friends around them.