COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Community members are donating blood to honor the two Kootenai County firefighters killed in Sunday’s ambush, with Kootenai Health organizing a memorial blood drive that has drawn overwhelming support from local residents.
Kootenai Health is the hospital that took in the wounded men on Sunday. Many people called Kootenai Health asking how they could help after Sunday’s tragedy.
The hospital partnered with Vitalant to put together a blood drive in honor of the fallen heroes. The drive hopes to collect 20 pints of blood, which staff say could help up to 60 people.
“It makes me feel really good. I work at the hospital, so, I’ve been near all of this, so I just wanted to be giving back to the community,” said Breanna Howe, who was donating blood.
Staff at the drive say it’s always a good time to donate blood, as donations have a shelf life and need to be replenished continually.
Once appointments were opened for this specific drive, they booked up almost completely, showing how many community members want to help.
COPYRIGHT 2025 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.