New police and fire chaplain training academy in Spokane graduates chaplains

Chaplains from across the United States have been making their way through 60 hours of training in five days this week as part of the first class of students in the National Police and Fire Chaplain Academy in Spokane.

The 32 chaplains from Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Alaska, California, and Tennessee gathered Thursday night at the Valley Bible Church for a graduation ceremony.

The academy in Spokane is unique because it trains both fire and police chaplains in the same session, said executive director Chaplain Stuart Vogelman. “We offer a whole series of classes as part of our curriculum that no one else does,” he said.

The students learned how to handle line of duty deaths, chaplain safety and fire operations, as well as how to notify next of kin and coordinate with medical examiners and funeral homes.

But the job of a chaplain isn’t only to respond when there is a death, Vogelman said. A lot of time is spent integrating a chaplain into the department they serve in order to build a relationship with first responders.

“We invest in them, hang out with them, go to training with them,” he said. “It’s a tightknit group, so it takes time to build trust.”

Spokane County Fire District 8 Chief Tony Nielsen was at the graduation to see two of his chaplains graduate: one a volunteer lieutenant with the department, and the other a local pastor who used to be a volunteer firefighter.

Chaplains have an important role in any fire department and any captain or lieutenant in the department can call out for a chaplain if they think one is needed, he said.

“We encounter folks who are often in times of crisis,” he said. “They’re available not only to the people that we serve but our responders.”

“Chaplains are a very special breed,” Vogelman told the gathered crowd Thursday. “We tend to step into life’s most horrific moments.”

Kenneth Brown is a chaplain and firefighter with the Memphis Fire Department as well as an associate pastor at a nondenominational church. He’s been a chaplain for 19 years and decided to attend the Spokane school as his annual training.

“There were some things that were new, but mainly it’s a refresher,” he said.

It’s a love for people that keeps Brown going in his job; that, and the ability to look out for his brothers and sisters in the department, he said.

“That’s the drive for any first responder,” Brown said. “I know how it feels to be out there and be hurt.”

Vogelman said the academy plans to offer fire and police chaplain training sessions in Spokane twice a year. “Our training standards are pretty high,” he said. “We want our chaplains trained and qualified at the highest level.”