Fire 5 hopefuls at odds on strategy

In a fire district northwest of Airway Heights, two fire commission candidates see much different strategies for the small department.

Volunteer firefighter Todd Lehman is running against Fire Commissioner Greg Lucht for the Spokane County Fire District 5 Position 1 seat this fall.

The position pays $50 per monthly meeting. The term lasts six years.

Lehman said he served as fire chief for more than six years and spent 18 years fighting fires for the department. Throughout those years, he has seen a lot of fires but also a lot of board meetings.

“I have a pretty good understanding of how it runs,” he said. “I think I’d do good in the spot.”

Lehman, who works with the Spokane County Road Department, said he hopes to stop “frivolous” spending. The rural volunteer district should do more with less, he said.

The fire commissioner position should also interact more with the public and find solutions to difficult questions, he said.

“You should have an answer,” Lehman said. “You should be held responsible.”

Lucht said he has spent about 10 years trying to improve fire and medical service for residents of the 90-square-mile district. Those improvements include better training, equipment and response times.

“I feel that it’s very, very important to keep going the way we are going,” he said.

Understanding the complexities of the whole district and its two stations are important, the area farmer said. Serving the district as fire commissioner is a passion he inherited from both this grandfather and father who served before him.

Lucht said recent changes have improved conditions in the district since last year, when spending and budget disagreements led to an attempted recall of himself and fellow Fire Commissioner James Ryan. A Superior Court judge later rejected the allegations.

“I want to continue with the progress we’ve made,” Lucht said.