Need some water, firefighter? No problem!

By CHANSE WATSON

Managing Editor

SMELTERVILLE — When jumping off the freeway in Smelterville and heading toward town, one can spot a small coffee stand that bears a striking resemblance to a classic red barn. This unique business recently changed its name to reflect its new owner’s support for those who help us in our darkest hours.

Lifeline Espresso (formerly the Espresso Barn), owned and operated by Tiffany Howard and Blaine Thompson, has been open since early May and has made a name for itself in a short amount of time by being a big supporter of first responders.

“Our logo has stripes on it with a black flag that supports all the way down to dispatch and tow truck drivers,” Thompson said. “We’re not just supporting the guys in red and blue, we support every part of first response.”

The decision to dedicate the name of their business to first responders was influenced not only by a general admiration for their efforts, but also a deep personal reason as well.

Thompson explained that he and Howard have a 5-year-old son that has needed consistent medical attention in the past, requiring numerous trips to Seattle and Spokane. After many surgeries and procedures, the couple had an even more profound sense of respect for those who provide care.

“Who’s the first person you call when you have a problem? Who’s the first person we call when our little boy isn’t breathing?” he asked. “That is what touches home, help the people that help people.”

After picking up the coffee stand in an effort to be more available for their son, Howard and Thompson have been hard at work the last three months making drinks and getting the word out about the new business. It turns out though that all they needed to do to get more name recognition was continue supporting the local first responders.

On July 16, Lifeline Espresso kicked off what they call a “bottle water run” or a “Shoshone County hydration party.”

“I found out through a few people that Shoshone County was getting a little low on their bottled water, so that’s what brought us up to do the bottle water run,” Thompson said.

The idea was simple — throw a goodie basket together filled with random donations from businesses and raffle it off (as of Monday, its contents are valued at $500 and rising). Participants can enter the drawing by donating a case of water or Gatorade, or by purchasing a ticket. One case of water equals one ticket and one case of Gatorade equals two tickets.

The water and Gatorade collected would then be distributed to the local fire entities in Shoshone County and the money raised from purchased tickets would be matched by Lifeline to buy more Gatorade.

What Howard and Thompson did not count on, though, is the cause catching fire like it has (pun intended).

In the first two days of the run, Lifeline had collected around 100, 24-pack cases of water. By Monday, they had more than 10,000 bottles of water and counting (not including Gatorade).

“This is going bigger than I ever thought it would go and I’m stoked to help out,” Thompson said.

All the water was initially set to go to the fire departments in Shoshone County, but with the runs unexpected (but not unwelcome) success, Lifeline has already more than stocked them and is now loading up departments in Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Spokane and beyond.

Thompson explains that one of the main reasons why the run has gained so much popularity and had so much success is due to the efforts of the men’s volunteer organization, MTFU (the G rated definition translates to “Man the Family Up”).

MTFU (of which Thompson is a member) approached Lifeline after hearing about the water run and offered to collect bottles and raise awareness. With 60,000 members spread out across the county — and the leader of the group, Chris Morris, being a Silver Valley native — it wasn’t long before literal truck loads of bottled water started showing up.

To get an idea of the reach of this event, Lifeline accepted 30 cases of water on Sunday from a woman who had driven all the way from Seattle.

Born and raised in the Prichard/Murray area, Thompson was almost at a loss for words when describing just how happy he was with the participation in the local area and beyond.

“Honestly, I’m speechless,” he said. “Huge thank you to our community. (Especially to) Steins IGA in Kellogg and Osburn, Yokes and Harvest Foods. They got the ball rolling.”

With this tremendous success, Lifeline plans to make this an annual event and expects that it will only get bigger.

Lifeline Espresso, located at 100 Main St. in Smelterville, is still accepting cases for raffle tickets and will be until noon Friday.