BAMBI’S LEGACY
BY DYLAN BRUCE
The Bambi Bucket™ is a large, collapsable bucket that attaches to helicopters, allowing them to scoop up gallons of water to drop on fires – it isn’t named after Bambi Morey, but she always told younger firefighters in the field that it was.
Morey died in 2024, aged 71, and left behind a legacy of dedication for fire management and cherished memories for those who were lucky enough to know her.
Morey’s career fighting wildfires began in 1986, when she took over the volunteer fire department in Gardner, Colorado, with her husband Craig; by 1989 they were both working with the US Forest Service.
As assistant chief and then chief of the Gardner Fire Department, Morey built the department into an impressive bastion of the community, with new trucks and equipment, plenty of volunteers, and a substation to help respond to fires.
From her very first fire, Morey was hooked on the work, and over the course of her career she fought blazes in nearly all states and even assisted in a space shuttle recovery operation in Texas.
Morey worked as a hand crew and engine crew member, engine boss, and in radio operations, developing a reputation as reliable member of every team she was a part of.
Morey loved working with fire engines, and her pride and joy was her crew’s second engine, a custom build known as 501 – the name was a mystery even to her family, and Morey would always excitedly point out when clocks showed 5:01.
Even after she retired in 2009, Bambi refused to let anyone else drive 501, which she also referred to as her baby.
Most of Morey’s fellow firefighters were men, but she was a strong believer that fire fighting had no gender roles – if you wanted to do the job, you just had to work as hard as everyone else.
Morey was recognized by her peers for her careful planning, compassion, and emotional support, and her grounding presence that helped calm the more nervous junior firefighters was valued by all; by the end of her career, Morey was known to many of the firefighters as Mom.
Morey had to make do with ill-fitting gear designed for men and an absence of any female-oriented resources in the beginning, but as her career went on and more women joined up, things began to improve and fire camps became more accommodating places for her.
There were even some perks to being one of the few women in the field – she rarely had to wait for a shower after a long day on the line.
Morey’s work meant that she had to spend a lot of time away from her family – summers were particularly hard, but her children understood that she was doing important work saving people’s lives and homes.
In honour of her incredible career, some of Morey’s ashes will be placed in a Bambi Bucket and dropped on a fire this coming northern spring – just as she had always joked about.
(The Bambi Bucket was developed by SEI Industries in 1982. The name is trademarked.)
