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The call can come at any moment. A re, a car crash or something worse. Whatever it is, Drew Buckner is ready.
Unlike the re ghters with whom he frequently works, Buckner doesn’t spin down a pole and jump into Nomex pants. Instead, he grabs a few items – a ashlight, a radio and sometimes a Bible – and calmly climbs behind the wheel.
Buckner doesn’t always arrive rst at the scene. Sometimes, it’s been 30 minutes or more since tragedy struck. But he is a rst responder nonetheless. While paramedics are responding to the needs of the victims before them, Buckner is performing emotional triage; treating victims whose wounds are more than skin deep.
Buckner is the chaplain.
The Texas native and former pastor has worked as the
chaplain for the Kalispell Fire Department, Kalispell Police Department, Flathead County Sheri ’s O ce, and the ALERT Air Ambulance for a decade. As chap- lain he o ers comfort to people in some of their darkest times as well as guidance and advice to the rst respond- ers who often work in emotionally trying situations.
The chaplaincy dates back centuries and is often assigned to a military unit, re department or hospi- tal. There are even references to priests accompanying troops into battle in the Old Testament. In Montana, most re and police departments in large communi- ties have full-time chaplains. Until a decade ago, most Flathead chaplains were part-time and only worked a few times a month.
In 2005, two re ghters approached local minis- ters about starting a more permanent program. Among the candidates they pitched was Buckner, who had moved to the Kalispell area in 2001. Buckner said he had never considered becoming a chaplain but he was drawn to the challenges of the job. He and a handful of other volunteers began working with the Kalispell Fire Department soon after.
“It’s very di erent than being a pastor at a church because things are usually pretty calm at a church,” said Steve Snipstead, a pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Kalispell and volunteer chaplain for the last ve years.
When Buckner rst arrives at a scene he often receives a quick brie ng from the incident commander and then looks to talk to the people involved. Some- times people are surprised to nd that a chaplain has been dispatched to the scene, he said, but they are usu- ally appreciative of his presence. Last week, that meant spending time with a man and his daughter who were involved in a car accident in Kalispell. After checking that the man and his child were OK, Buckner learned the man’s wife had been transported to the hospital. Buckner gave them a ride to the hospital and then spent time with them waiting for news in the lobby.
“When you go to a scene you’re stepping into a cri- sis,” he said. “You’re meeting people of di erent edu- cational and economical backgrounds, but none of that matters because traumatic events impact all of us the same.”
Buckner, a soft-spoken 54-year-old with a slight Texas drawl, rarely talks about religion when he’s
DECEMBER 16, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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