GCFD 7 holds open house, plans more for future

SOAP LAKE — Grant County Fire District 7 hosted an open house Saturday at their station in Soap Lake to allow members of the community a chance to meet the fire chief and volunteers and get to know how the department works.

“I'm all about transparency,” said GCFD 7’s new Chief Chris Baker. “I come from a small community myself and the fire department was the backbone of the community, and I want that to be part of this community. I want the fire department to be heavily involved.”

Volunteer firefighters took open house attendees on a tour of the fire station and the various fire apparatuses and repurposed military vehicles in the station’s garage, while Baker and other GCFD 7 members like Commissioner Lynne Nelson — who has been a commissioner for 22 years — visited with the public over refreshments.

Baker said about 25 to 30 people had already stopped by the station by around 11 a.m. and he expected more after lunch.

“People have been kind of coming in and out and we show them around,” Nelson said. “It's just an informational meet and greet. We want people to feel comfortable and to be able to come out and if they need anything or they have any questions about anything, we're here to answer those questions, to help.”

Baker has been the district’s chief since February.

“There's been a lot of progression during that time. We’ve gone from 13 volunteers to now 25,” he said. “We've updated some of our equipment. We've been trying to do what we can to beautify our stations and make them a little bit more functional.”

Baker is the only paid employee with the district — the other firefighters and staff are volunteers.

“High Rollers, which is our nonprofit association attached to the department, is starting to do a large amount of planning for the next five years as far as events because, again, we want to pull the community together. We want this fire department to be the heartbeat of it,” he said.

High Rollers is responsible for planning outreach and events like the open house, as well as supporting the firefighters with things like meals, coffee and other assistance. It also allows the department to apply for more grants and to hold the fire district to a certain standard regarding policies and finances.

The open house was also an opportunity for recruitment, Baker said.

“We're gearing up for a large grant that we obtained and this is part of that,” Baker said. “We want people to know that our doors are open for them and maybe learn about what they can do to volunteer. It may not be the response side of things, but maybe it's the High Rollers side of things.”

The department is also trying to educate the public on fire prevention, city ordinances in Soap Lake and the surrounding area and the district’s recent implementation of their own EMS response vehicles.

“A new program that we're also starting is, we'll go on a medical call and we'll transport that person; within about 48 (to) 72 hours after we've transported, we're going to swing by and just see how they're doing,” Baker said.

The volume of EMS calls and fire incidents in Soap Lake might make the program difficult to implement, he said. Despite the challenges though, he said he feels it’s important to implement the program as best as possible.

Colleen Long and Don Long visited the open house and took a tour of the station’s vehicles. The couple said they have lived in Soap Lake for 10 years and in Ephrata before that for 40 years.

“They’re our fire district, and we want to encourage them and get to see what's here,” Colleen said. “Sometimes people ask or have questions, so we can tell them what we know because we've been here.”

Baker reiterated that the open house and GCFD 7’s programs are focused on serving members of the public first and foremost.

“This is the taxpayer's fire department. It's not my fire department, it's not the volunteer's department, it's the public’s fire department and I want people to see where their taxpayer’s money is going,” said Baker. “We also have a proposition on the ballot in November so that's another way for us to get the message out on what our need is. But it's not going to stop after November. We're going to continue to have our doors open.”

Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android.