Emily Buckley, editor-in-chief
For the last 25 years, for his entire married life, Craig Humphreys has worn a pager on his person and the emergency radio has been in the background of every meal, celebration and “quiet moment” in his home.
“Our kids grew up listening to it,” his wife Konie said. “Being a firefighter or EMS worker is not a job, it is a lifestyle. It affects everything you do, and everything your family does.”
Craig and Konie were both born and raised in Cache Valley and have lived in North Logan for 25 years.
“When we were dating, Konie and I passed a bad accident on the Valley View Highway,” Craig said. “I admired how the emergency workers handled the situation and cared for the lady and child involved. I decided then that I would make my career serving people this way.”
Craig was a charter member of the North Logan Fire Department and was hired by Cache County in 2002 as the Assistant Chief and later Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal. In 2008, he became the first full-time Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal for North Logan Fire Department, and has served there as a volunteer firefighter/EMT and training officer.
Craig has served as the Cache County Fire Marshal and Volunteer Deputy Fire Chief, Logan City Fire Marshal and is currently the Logan City Assistant Fire Chief/Fire Marshal and the Volunteer Deputy Chief for North Logan City.
He says throughout his years of service he has made it a point to remember that every call he takes could be the worst day of someone else’s life. “We try to learn and apply skills that can ease the burden and trauma on someone else’s worst day,” he said.
Over the last two decades he has trained countless other emergency workers. “That is the professional achievement I am most proud of,” Craig said. “It is satisfying to see those I have trained be successful in responding to calls and helping those in need.”
The instinct to serve community and nation has become a tradition in the Humphreys family. Konie and Craig’s oldest son, Joe, 22, is a Corporal in the United States Army 1st Infantry 54th Calvary working as a medic. He is on his second deployment, currently stationed in Poland. Their oldest daughter RaQuel Short, is a licensed practical nurse, studying to become a registered nurse.
Their younger children, Raelyn, 16, and James, 14, are both students at the new Green Canyon High School in North Logan.
When asked what families can do to prepare and protect themselves in an emergency situation, Craig says they should always prepare for what they hope never happens:
- Make sure you have working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in your home. Ensure they have working batteries. Smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years and carbon monoxide detectors should be replaced every five years.
- Have a family emergency and communication plan. This should include a family meeting place and a common out-of-state contact person you can all call in case local cell phone service is out.
- Have fire extinguishers in your home and know how to use them.
- Have 72-hour kits. Keep them current and store them in accessible location in your home.
- Know where utilities (water, electricity and gas) are in your home and know how to turn them off in case of emergency or natural disaster. All adults in the home should know where these shut offs are since you can’t plan when an emergency will happen and one or the other may not be home when it is needed.
Craig said it is wise to have a book or binder with emergency information and to go through it regularly, especially if you have children in your home, to help all household members become confident in what they should do in case of an emergency.
