Valley deputy fire chief to retire

Larry Rider’s Spokane Valley roots run deep.

His grandfather ran a blacksmith shop on Sprague Avenue. Schafer Road was named after his great-grandfather. His father, Doug Rider, was chief of the Spokane Valley Fire Department for several years.

After Rider graduated from University High School he worked in construction. When the construction industry collapsed in the ’70s, he took the test to become a firefighter and was hired on. This week Rider retires after 35 years with the department.

In that time, he’s made a conscious decision ever since not to move out of the department’s boundaries – he’s never lived more than 5 miles from the Spokane Valley home where he was born.

“When you break that connection, to a degree you just work here,” he said.

Rider spent decades working his way up the ranks. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1992. In 1994, he was part of the department’s first technical rescue team. In 1996, he became the training division chief. He was promoted to deputy chief in 2001 and has overseen the regional ambulance service contract since 2010.

One of the perks of the job is being allowed into places that other people aren’t allowed to go, Rider said. “This is an adventure and they pay you to do it,” he said.

His background in construction made it a natural decision to put him in charge of building four new fire stations and a new administration building over the last decade. His meticulous attention to detail meant that he was on the building site every day, making sure that everything was going as planned.

Rider compares his job as a deputy chief to a city manager, someone who handles the financial and business side of the organization. “It’s a big moving company,” he said. “It’s like UPS. It never stops.”

Over the years, Rider picked up a reputation as a guy who is tough to please and isn’t afraid to give his unvarnished opinion, even if you didn’t ask for it. “I’m the guy who says no until you give me a reason to say yes,” he said.

At 58, Rider could have kept working, but said he wants to have plenty of time to travel with his wife, Catherine, and spend time with his three children and eight grandchildren.

“I see firefighters I worked with dying of cancer and diseases,” he said. “I don’t want to be one of them that stays too long. I’m leaving with a full head of steam.”

Rider had been considering retirement earlier this year but waited until remodeling projects at the University Station and Otis Orchards Station were complete. “Me leaving in the middle was not something I wanted,” he said.

Rider spent some time last week bringing newly promoted Deputy Chief Andy Rorie up to speed. “It’s just time to let somebody else take the reins,” he said.

The leap into retirement after a lifetime of work will be hard, Rider said, but he’ll be looking for opportunities to keep himself busy.

“I’ve had a really good time,” he said. “I’ve got no complaints.”