By Paula Horton
The Tri-City Herald
KENNEWICK, Wash. — Members of the Kennewick Fire Department are mourning the death of one of their own killed in a motorcycle crash in Idaho.
Capt. Eric Shink, 40, of Kennewick, was on a motorcycle ride with fellow firefighters heading to Colorado Springs, Colo., for the annual IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Service. Many firefighters from around the country are making their way on motorcycles to Colorado to take part in memorial rides before Saturday’s memorial service.
The crash occurred just after 6 p.m. Monday on Interstate 84 near the Idaho/Oregon border, the Idaho State Police said. Shink was exiting off eastbound I-84 when he lost control on a curve and struck the guard rail, police said.
Shink, who was wearing a helmet, was thrown from his motorcycle and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Idaho State Police said alcohol and speed are believed to have been factors in the crash, which remains under investigation.
Kennewick Fire Marshal Mark Yaden said other Kennewick firefighters were on the ride with Shink but apparently were not with him at the time of the crash. The group was making its way back home to the Tri-Cities, he said.
“It really is a sad day for us. It’d be accurate to say it’s kind of shaken us to our core,” Yaden said. “It really makes us stop and pause and truly appreciate the value of all our employees.”
Many members of the fire department learned about Shink’s death Tuesday morning when they arrived for the shift change. Yaden said they were reeling from the loss of one of the family, but they all knew they still had a job to do.
“We asked ourselves, ‘What would Eric want?’ He’d want us to be here at work today and work through this and have today be like no other day,” Yaden said.
Members of the fire department were working closely with his family, providing them support and helping make service arrangements. Shink is survived by his wife, Mary, and a 9-year-old son.
Shink, described as a dedicated firefighter who championed for advancements in the fire services, began his fire career in Kennewick in 1995. He was an active member of the fire department’s technical rescue team and a paramedic. He was promoted to captain in 2003.
Before he became a firefighter, Shink served in the Marine Corps and participated in the liberation of Kuwait, Yaden said.
Shink also was an advanced scuba diver — one of his hobbies was cave diving — and he was a rescue diver with Columbia Basin Dive Rescue, said Battalion Chief Mike Barnett. Shink was the lead on a committee with Benton County, Dive Rescue and the Coast Guard working to improve water rescue responses, Barnett said.
“Eric was one of our top captains. He really took his job seriously,” Barnett said. “He loved being a firefighter. He loved working with the firefighters and he loved working with the public. One of his favorite things was station tours — taking the children through the station and showing them the apparatus.”
Shink helped raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and would go out with other Kennewick firefighters helping clean yards or build decks for people in need in the community, Barnett said.
Yaden said if there was some event or activity the department was involved in, Shink could be found in the lead helping take it on. Shink also recognized the need to be a better firefighter every day he came to work, he said.
“He truly made this a better place. ... What a mentor — especially to the younger firefighters coming up through the ranks and learning on the job,” Yaden said. “He truly led by example. He will be missed. It will leave an impact on the fire department and fire service all over.”
Copyright 2009 Tri-City Herald