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By Daniel Iverson BLACKFOOT — The Blackfoot Fire Department recently celebrated the 26 years of service rendered by Lt. David Vail, who has retired after nearly three decades of watching the culture and technology of firefighting — and watching himself — change. 
Morning News - Daniel Iverson
Retired Blackfoot Fire Department Lt. David Vail sits at the Bronco Barn pizzeria, a business his family owns and operates.
The majority of the firefighters Vail started with retired before him, and now only one remains with equal seniority. He suffered a few injuries along the way, and instead of losing weight and getting into shape, he said he “went the other direction.”
But there are no regrets for the seasoned firefighter. “It was a good run,” he said.
Now Vail can be found almost any afternoon sitting at the corner booth of the Bronco Barn pizzeria, a business his wife Miriam bought about a year ago and his daughter Audra manages. He helps wherever he is needed, occasionally even delivering a pizza.
From the corner booth, Vail recounted his career from the beginning.
Originally a welder, Vail applied to the Blackfoot Fire Department in 1981 after being impressed with his father-in-law's firefighting career in southern Indiana. He admired the camaraderie among the firefighters and decided it would be an appropriate fit for him.
BFD hired Vail the following year, officially launching his 26-year career.
Vail started by running ambulances as an EMT. Later he became an advanced EMT, which allowed him to start IVs and complete other tasks usually reserved for doctors. He helped to administer Idaho's first registered save with a computerized defibrillator.
Now BFD has only paramedics instead of EMTs — a change for the better, according to Vail. Change is something to which he is familiar. He has watched firefighting technology and culture change through the years as well.
The old motion detectors with which firefighters used to be equipped, used to signal colleagues to their immobility, required being completely motionless for several minutes before emitting a signal. Now they're faster-acting and valuable to safety.
Communicating with other firefighters through their helmets was difficult with raging fires before, but now all it requires is pressing a button to activate a speaker.
Vail said fire prevention has improved too. "We used to have a lot more fires," he said. With smoke detectors and better education, the number of fires continues dropping.
Even so, 26 years is enough to see anything. "I've seen a lot of disastrous fires," Vail said.
Until retirement, Vail was one of BFD's few remaining firefighters who was around for the Starlight Hotel fire. The hotel ignited during the 1984 holiday season. Guests jumped from the second-storey windows into about two inches of snow, breaking their bones.
Vail recalled helping to rescue one man from the hotel and laying him across a car parked outside of the building. The man was wearing no shirt, and the snow covering the car beneath him melted. The man survived the night but died from his wounds shortly after.
It was the first fire Vail fought in which someone died, but it wouldn't be the only one.
Another holiday fire consumed an apartment building, burning one family's small Christmas tree and melting the ornaments and wrapped gifts beneath it. "That was the worst one for loss of life I've ever seen," said Vail.
Vail said during his early years, he fit the description of a young firefighter who is somewhat aggressive and competitive, who wants to be the one hanging off of the cable rescuing someone.
According to Vail, those young firefighters used to be known for wearing a self-proclaimed badge of courage as "leather lungs" by neglecting to use masks and oxygen tanks.
Filling up oxygen tanks used to be inconvenient with older technology, and unless a clear danger was present, firefighters sometimes would enter without one. But more and more pollutants and toxins were discovered within smoke-filled air, and the firefighters stopped taking chances.
Except for lieutenants and captains, firefighters mostly are young. "It's basically a young man's game," said Vail of his career. As a lieutenant, his job was to oversee the fire scene, deciding the appropriate times to pull out, where to set up equipment and which areas of the fire to focus on.
"As you settle down, you begin to realize maybe you're not the toughest guy at the station anymore," he said, and other less intense positions start to become appealing.
Again shifting roles, Vail became an arson investigator. The position required being slow and methodical, which suited him. "You don't want to be fast and impatient," he said.
Vail fought fewer fires after becoming an arson investigator, but at a small department such as Blackfoot's, "You wear several hats," he said. The majority of firefighters try to maintain their skills while having an extra specialty.
Vail sustained various minor injuries during his career, but two big ones left a lasting mark.
During one incident, the sprinklers at a local business had activated, but there was no fire. Vail was helping to set up a ladder to turn off the sprinklers and slipped while doing so because a thin layer of ice had formed on top of the water covering the floor.
Vail tore up his knee but escaped further injury due to Capt. Kurt Aikele grabbing the ladder before it fell on him. He underwent surgery, but his knee never fully recovered.
Another injury involved lifting the heavy end of a stretcher. Vail was unable to trigger the dropping wheels, which are designed to relieve the strain of the weight, causing him to rupture a disc in his back. Physical therapy proved insufficient for a complete recovery.
Despite taking a break afterward, Vail found certain elements of his job to be harder due to his injuries, so he decided to follow his doctor's advice and retire a year or two earlier than he had planned.
BFD celebrated Vail's career with a retirement party at the beginning of November. With his newfound free time, Vail hopes to do a little sightseeing. His only travel experience is going to Kentucky to visit his wife's family, so he plans to visit the western U.S. coastline.
"I've worked with Dave since I started," said Fire Chief Kevin Gray. "He was handy — could build about anything. He was just a great employee."
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