Tunnel to Towers adapts Coeur d’Alene firefighter's home after ambush injury

David Tysdal’s home in Coeur d’Alene has been rebuilt around the realities of life after a spinal injury: easier entries, safer movement and a layout meant to give him back day-to-day independence. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation completed the smart-home adaptations for the longtime Coeur d’Alene Fire Department engineer, who survived the June 28, 2025 ambush near Canfield Mountain that killed Battalion Chief John Morrison and Kootenai County Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Frank Harwood.

The changes are designed to make ordinary tasks possible without constant help. Tunnel to Towers says its Smart Home Program can include automated doors and lighting, wider halls and doorways, special showers, automatic locks, raised or lowered counters and stove tops, backup generators and phone or tablet control. For a firefighter recovering from severe injuries, those features can mean the difference between depending on another person and moving through a home on his own.

Tysdal was later transferred to a spinal-injury specialty facility in Colorado for recovery. He served 24 years with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department before retiring effective Jan. 31, 2026, closing out a career that ended with one of the darkest calls in North Idaho fire history. The adapted home now stands as part of that recovery, giving him a space built for mobility, safety and a longer-term return to everyday living.

Tunnel to Towers says its smart homes are mortgage-free and are built for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. The foundation also says it has more than 200 people waiting for smart homes, underscoring how limited the supply remains for families facing lifelong disability after line-of-duty injuries.

The organization’s work in North Idaho has extended beyond Tysdal. After the ambush, Tunnel to Towers announced mortgage relief support for the homes of Morrison and Harwood, adding another layer of assistance for the families left behind. The foundation’s broader mission, launched after Sept. 11, includes paying off mortgages for fallen first responder families and providing adapted homes for catastrophically injured service members and first responders.

For Coeur d’Alene, the home adaptation is more than a construction project. It is a concrete sign of what long-term support can look like when a first responder survives a catastrophic injury: a house that is not only accessible, but built to preserve dignity, reduce strain and make recovery possible in the place he calls home.