By Joel Martin
Columbia Basin Herald
HARTLINE, Wash. 鈥� Grant County Fire District 6 covers 232 square miles of Northeastern Grant County with a population of a little over 2,200. That means resources can get stretched a little thin, said Charles Erickson, a fifth-generation farmer in the Hartline area.
鈥淔or the most part, we鈥檙e all farmers out here, and a lot of times, I can be 12 miles north and two miles away from my pickup, and when the call comes out, it鈥檚 going to take me 10, 15 minutes to get back to my pickup and then another 10, 15 minutes to get into town,鈥� Erickson said.
Erickson 鈥� he鈥檚 equally at home being called 鈥淐harlie鈥� or 鈥淐huck鈥� 鈥� is a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician who also serves on the fire commission for GCFD 6. That makes him both Fire Chief Daryl Dormaier鈥檚 subordinate and one of his three bosses, which Dormaier is just fine with.
鈥淚鈥檝e known this guy all his life,鈥� Dormaier said. 鈥淎nd we were looking for a new commissioner, because one of ours was wanting to retire, and me being the fire chief, I thought, well, who can I get along with and take orders from? And he crossed my mind.鈥�
Erickson came into the world of volunteer firefighting early, he said. His father was a volunteer, and Erickson joined a junior firefighter program when he was 16.
鈥淭hey allowed you at 16 to join the department,鈥� Erickson said. 鈥淵ou weren鈥檛 able to drive any of the trucks, but you could assist on fire calls. You could observe if you wanted to, you could grab a shovel and put out a fire if you wanted, or you could run a hose if you had the training. It was a neat program.鈥�
Erickson expanded his range into the EMT side of the district about three years ago, he said, because there was a serious need in the community.
鈥淭here was only one, maybe two, EMTs in the area, and they were running ragged,鈥� he said.
He and his wife, Timi, both took the EMT training at the same time, and it鈥檚 a good thing they did, he said.
鈥淭his has been the weird thing,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a small district, so typically (we get) maybe 12 ambulance calls a year. This year we鈥檙e at well over 100.鈥�
鈥淚f we saw 40 calls a year (in the past) we thought, 鈥極h, my God, we鈥檙e working too hard.鈥欌�� Dormaier said.
The reason, Erickson explained, is that District 6 has been helping out Coulee City , whose municipal fire department is frequently understaffed. Coulee City , Hartline and Almira all function as a kind of unit, Erickson said, not least because the same high school serves all three communities.
You are not 鈥榡ust鈥� a volunteer firefighter
The District 6 station is in downtown Hartline, but the district has taken to keeping some apparatus down south near Wilson Creek and a truck is being built now that will be kept at Erickson鈥檚 house about 10 miles north of town, he said. Even with that, the distances between residences and towns means the EMTs have to have a lot of independence.
鈥淚f there is an emergency, we have to be vigilant in deciding whether that person needs a higher level of care very quickly,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o, we use the helicopter system a lot out here. There鈥檚 one stationed right outside of Moses Lake that we use all the time. If the helicopter on Stratford Road is there with the crew, fueled up and ready to go, it can be here in under 20 minutes. If there is a critical emergency, we鈥檙e driving to the nearest hospital, which is Grand Coulee, 25-30 minutes away. (But) if we know that that patient needs a higher level of care and they are critically sick, they can be at a major hospital within 35 to 40 minutes. We have to make (that decision) on the spot, sometimes even before we see the patient, just to try and get the ball rolling.鈥�
Fortunately, the team is now up to five people, he said, which means the Ericksons get more time at home. Timi and Chuck have two teenagers, one 18-month-old and a baby due in December. Running a farm, raising a family and saving lives can be a lot to juggle, Timi said.
鈥淎t the time when we signed up for this, it was kind of, you know, we could go on stuff together,鈥� Timi said. We鈥檇 swap off. We were managing pretty well. (The teenagers) are pretty self-sufficient, they鈥檙e gone all day. But then we had (18-month-old Hudson) and now one on the way, so it鈥檚 a little tricky. We trade off where we can and if he happens to be home with the little guy, I鈥檒l go.鈥�
Chuck Erickson has a full plate, Dormaier said, but that doesn鈥檛 stop him taking on more when he sees a need. Besides the farm, fire and EMT, he also works part-time for Colville Tribes Emergency Services in Nespelem and serves on the board of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers.
鈥淗e鈥檚 always really trying to dedicate (himself) and be a strong advocate for whatever we鈥檝e got going on at the fire department,鈥� Dormaier said. 鈥淗e understands that we鈥檙e up here in very rural Grant County and it鈥檚 tough for us to get a crew together, but if he鈥檚 not with doing something with the tribe, he gets in his rig, he hauls ass to the fire station, he gets in the ambulance, and he does what he can to ... provide a service for his community.鈥�
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