HAYDEN — As the anniversary of the Canfield Mountain incident nears, leadership at Northern Lakes Fire Protection District put their heads together to honor fellow first responders who worked to get Dave Tysdal and Fritz Wiedenhoff off the mountain. 

Firefighters Local 4045 President Jarrod Pitts said when his wife first told him of the shooting, it seemed unbelievable.  

“For whatever reason, I felt like it was a good idea to give Capt. Wiedenhoff, who’s my captain, a call,” Pitts said. 

He was quickly hit with the stark realities of the situation when he realized how close Wiedenhoff was to the devastation that took place.   

Wiedenhoff asked him to record a call, something he had just learned to do, and then told him that he cared about him. 

“‘If something happens to me, I just want you to know that I love you,’” Pitts recalled Wiedenhoff saying. “It made everything really very real.” 

“We are all very aware of what happened and how we lost two good men,” Pitts said. “John and Frank are our brothers and Dave is our brother.” 

Because of the grave injuries to Tysdal, Pitts expressed gratitude that his brother was still with them. 

“Thank you for saving my friend,” Pitts told the members of the SWAT team. 

Arek Brock (KCSO), Harvey Ballman (KCSO), Troy Tulleners (ISP), Michael Jolley (Cd'A PD), Ben Sanchez (Cd'A PD), Steve Jones (Cd'A FD), Joshua Orr (KCSO) and Justin Bangs (Cd'A PD) each received a Medal of Bravery and were made honorary members of Northern Lakes Fire on Tuesday evening.  

“It’s a pretty big deal when a bunch of firemen stand in front of a bunch of cops and tell them how awesome they are,” Pitts said. 

Fire Chief Kevin Croffoot said that first responders need each other and that he is proud to extend that family bond to the men who stepped up on June 29, 2025. 

“It’s to honor you guys who got brother Wiedenhoff and brother Tysdal off the mountain that day,” Croffoot said.

The weight of sacrifices made for the community is felt by members of Northern Lakes Fire and drove them to open their hearts even wider to the SWAT members who responded in the aftermath of the shooting. 

Northern Lakes Fire has never before extended the honorary memberships to members of law enforcement.  

“Today is kind of unprecedented,” Croffoot said. “Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts for what you did that day, the heroism that you showed.”

    Steve Jones (CdA FD) and Northern Lakes Fire Chief Kevin Croffoot embrace after Jones received a Medal of Bravery Tuesday.
  

    Firefighters Local 4045 President Jarrod Pitts thanked members of the SWAT team who helped get Dave Tysdal and Fritz Wiedenhoff to safety after the Canfield Mountain incident last year.
  

    Arek Brock (KCSO), Joshua Orr (KCSO), Troy Tulleners (ISP) and Michael Jolley (CdA PD) each received a Fire Service Medal of Bravery and were made honorary members of Northern Lakes Fire Tuesday evening.
  

    Steve Jones (CdA FD), Ben Sanchez (CdA PD) and Harvey Ballman (KCSO) received Medals of Bravery from Northern Lakes Fire Chief Kevin Croffoot Tuesday. They were also made honorary members of Northern Lakes Fire.
  

    Northern Lakes Fire Chief Kevin Croffoot shakes the hand of Troy Tulleners (ISP) after giving him a Medal of Bravery for his actions during the Canfield Mountain incident.