SNOQUALMIE – For Robert Laswell and Brian Dillon, working at a hardware store has nothing on their new jobs at the Snoqualmie Department of Public Safety Fire Division’s fire station.

Both were employees at hardware stores on the Eastside when they decided to become firefighters, and neither regrets their career change for a second.

For Laswell, the decision to become a firefighter was almost sudden. While working at the Eagle Hardware store in Bellevue in 1997, an elderly man collapsed at the store. Laswell, who had CPR training, rushed to the man’s aid and helped stabilize him until emergency crews arrived.

“He was looking at some wood and just fell, so I went over to him,” Laswell said.

After visiting the man in the hospital later and after reading over a report he wrote about the incident for his employer, Laswell saw the gravity of his actions.

“I realized how important my actions were,” Laswell said.

He contacted the Bellevue firefighters who had responded to the incident and inquired about how to become a firefighter. Because he was living in North Bend, Laswell got in touch with the then-District 10 fire department in town and applied for training. After a 12-week initial training course, another nine-week course at the Washington State Patrol Fire Training Academy in North Bend and additional training to drive fire engines, Laswell was prepared.

For the complete story, pick up a copy of this week’s Valley Record