GCFD 7 ceremony promotes captains, medical service officers
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 months, 1 week AGO
From left: Ryan Boldman, Julie Gillespie and Joshua Grimm are sworn in by Grant County Fire District 7 Chief Erick Brittain as intermediate life support technicians. The three had to complete more than 300 hours of training, both class work and hands-on, to qualify.
COURTESY PHOTOS/GCFD 7
Grant County Fire District 7 captains Ryan Boldman, left, and Michael Harper are pinned by their families at a ceremony Friday. The two have been functioning as captains for some time, said Chief Erick Brittain; the ceremony was a formality required by Washington law.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | March 26, 2026 3:00 AM
SOAP LAKE — Four Grant County Fire District 7 firefighters officially received five promotions Friday, according to Chief Erick Brittain.
Ryan Boldman and Michael Harper took the oath and were pinned as captains, and Boldman, Julie Gillespie and Joshua Grimm were recognized as Intermediate Life Support Technicians.
For Captains Boldman and Grimm, the ceremony was a formality, Brittain said.
“They were actually existing captains,” he said. “However, (the Washington Administrative Code) does require an oath to be taken as well as the recognition. Fire District 7 (has been) evolving rather rapidly in the last couple of years. We developed in such a rapid state that we never got the chance to formally pin those captains.”
Boldman will serve double duty as a line captain and a medical service officer, Brittain said. Harper serves as a mechanic, overseeing the maintenance of the trucks.
“He’s one of the backbones, keeping things up and running, which is a full-time task,” Brittan said.
Boldman, Grimm and Gillespie’s certifications as ILSTs give GCFD 7 some stronger firepower when it comes to responding to emergencies, Brittain said.
“We’re really excited about moving that certification level from basic life support to intermediate,” Brittain said. “We updated our protocols countywide, which are some progressive, complex medical protocols, so that will be another layer of oversight. The MSOs do all the chart reviews as well as ensure that every provider is proficient in pharmacology and the different management techniques that comes along with the increase of skill level.”
Intermediate life support technicians bridge the gap between an emergency medical technician and a paramedic, according to the Washington Department of Health, which oversees the protocols. They can start IVs, manage basic airways and administer a short list of 14 medications. To be certified, a responder must complete more than 300 hours of training in classroom, online, clinical and field internship settings.
GCFD 7 is the only fire district in the county that has intermediate life support, Brittain said.
“So, when the paramedics are busy, but it needs a little more than what basic life support can handle, we’re there.”
Grant County Fire District 7 captains Ryan Boldman, left, and Michael Harper are pinned by their families at a ceremony Friday. The two have been functioning as captains for some time, said Chief Erick Brittain; the ceremony was a formality required by Washington law.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
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