FIRST RESPONDER FOCUS: Hartline firefighter and EMT covers a lot of ground

HARTLINE — 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. “For the most part, we’re 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’s going to take me 10, 15 minutes to get back to my pickup and then another 10, 15 minutes to get into town,” Erickson said. Erickson – he’s equally at home being called “Charlie” or “Chuck” – 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’s subordinate and one of his three bosses, which Dormaier is just fine with.