Longtime Benton Co. volunteer firefighter dies. Tri-Cities mourn loss of a role model
The community is mourning the death of a volunteer firefighter who served the Tri-Cities for nearly half a century.
The Benton County Fire District announced on Thursday that volunteer firefighter William “Bill” Morrison has died.
Morrison began working with Benton County Fire District 1 as a volunteer firefighter in 1975. He served until moving out of the area in 1988.
In 2013, after nearly two decades away, Morrison returned to the area, and jumped right back in. He had already retired twice from other jobs.
The department said he was an active volunteer firefighter through 2016, and then worked off and on over the next four years as an administrative volunteer for the district.
“Bill will be greatly missed! Our hearts go out to (his wife) Geri and the entire Morrison family during this difficult time. Always on our minds ... forever in our hearts!” a spokesperson for the district wrote.
At the time of his return, Morrison was the oldest active firefighter in the district at 71.
Decades of service
When a wildfire endangered Washington State Patrol offices near Kennewick in 1975, Morrison was inspired to help.
“I came and volunteered that night,” Morrison told the Herald in 2014. “I signed my name on the dotted line and was on a fire the next day.”
After that Morrison began training, learning everything he needed to on the job. He learned how to attack structure fires and help people with traumatic injuries.
Back then his day job was working maintenance at the Boise Cascade plant in Walla Walla. He recalled working fires overnight, and then heading straight to work, before repeating the process all over again. He would keep up that taxing schedule for three days at a time.
In 1994 Morrison retired for the first time. He and his wife moved to the San Juan Islands, but he decided to keep working as a heavy equipment mechanic.
Despite the move, the couple kept their Tri-Cities home and returned to the area after his second retirement. He returned to firefighting after about six months, when a blaze that threatened homes in south Kennewick near Clodfelter Road in June 2013.
This time though, he had to meet extensive training standards, which included dragging a 180-pound dummy out of a fire.
Deputy Chief Scott LoParco said he met Morrison when he came back to the Tri-Cities, and was inspired by his commitment to continue helping at his age.
“Bill was one of the hardest working guys I knew, he worked very hard when he was with us,” LoParco said. “He was such an inspiration to all of us, relearning to fight fire that late in life. It really gave us all something to look up to.”
LoParco said that drive to help was just part of who Morrison was.
“I think he had volunteerism instilled in him way back in the day when it was a big thing to volunteer in your community,” he said.
The reason he helped was simple, LoParco said Morrison saw the need for help, and stepped up. He said the district was grateful for his volunteerism, and also to Morrison’s family.
“It was always a pleasure working with Bill. He will always be remembered at the Fire District,” Ronald Fry wrote in a Facebook comment.
In 2014, Capt. Devin Helland told the Herald that Morrison was a dedicated and committed role model. He praised Morrison for his willingness to continue serving after retiring from his full-time job.
Before moving to administrative volunteer work, Morrison was still able to perform all the tests necessary for field work in his 70s.
“I don’t think there is someone who doesn’t trust him,” Helland said at the time. “He (was) a quiet guy who won’t turn down an assignment.”
Details on funeral arrangements have not yet been made public.
This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 12:56 PM.
