The Lake Oswego Fire Department's main fire station is on B Avenue.

The luring and subsequent murder of two firefighters by a gunman in Idaho — as well as other acts of violence against first responders and officials — is a sobering reminder, according to Lake Oswego Assistant Fire Chief Kristine Artman.

“It’s a wake up call to guard against complacency,” she said. “Anywhere you go, you should look at the scene, have awareness of who is there and the hazards. I’m having that conversation with officers tomorrow. These reminders, as tragic as they are, raise our awareness; that’s the lesson is we have to be aware.”

Wess Val Roley is suspected of setting a small fire in Canfield Mountain near Coeur D’Alene, Idaho as a way to lure firefighters to the scene. He allegedly subsequently killed two firefighters and injured another. Val Roley was found dead at the scene.

Artman said that firefighters are taught during training about explosions used to draw in first responders, with another explosion looming, but not of an incident involving this type of targeting.

“It adds a whole (other) level of danger to this job that is already dangerous,” Artman said. “It breaks my heart that first responders are having to think about their own safety in terms of someone actively trying to harm them while they are only there to help other people.”

The assistant fire chief said the LOFD tracks certain addresses where residents may be belligerent as a way to alert first responders when they have to go to those scenes. She emphasized that the firefighters in Idaho did seem to be aware of the scene and successfully warned their colleagues.

As a mother, Artman said that the increasing amount of political and senseless violence scares her, but she tries to put that out of mind when she’s on duty.

“You can’t operate in that realm of fear,” Artman said. “You know you have a job to do, take every precaution to be safe and that’s how we move forward.”