Taking Aim At Protecting FireFighters As Positive COVID-19 Cases Heat Up

In states like Arizona, Texas, Florida, and California local fire departments are coping with a rising number of firefighters testing positive for Coronavirus or quarantined, as respective stations across the United States continue to fight COVID-19 and attempt to stay afloat.

There is a growing concern in some cities and communities about the alarming number of firefighters contracting the Coronavirus as the pandemic rages across the United States. 

The Phoenix Fire Department reports a rise in COVID-19 related cases and is currently dealing with 70 positive cases among firefighters as of Tuesday afternoon, with another 100 members out of 1,585 firefighters who are currently quarantined and awaiting their test results. 

The common theme amongst firefighters from Connecticut to California is having to cope with the intense shift schedules and struggling to get tested, while their workloads consist of being on duty for at least 24 hours and sharing tight quarters within the fire department. For firefighters, apparently wearing full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) simply isn’t enough protection despite wearing an N95 mask or respirator, eye goggles or face shield, a protective gown, and gloves on medical calls or during interaction with the public. The troubling task may also extend to better protecting the crews in charge of decontaminating ambulances and fire trucks used on Coronavirus-related calls. 

According to KTAR News in Arizona, as many as 60 Phoenix firefighters have been taken off duty within a day because of a single exposure due to the environment they work in. After being exposed, firefighters are placed in a mandatory quarantine until they are tested and receive their results.

The Phoenix Fire Department isn’t alone in their fight against COVID-19 and the mounting number of positive cases amongst firefighters. 

Recently, 28 members of the Orlando Fire Department tested positive for COVID-19, with 87 in quarantine as the station takes necessary precautions to reduce the spread of the virus, which includes wearing PPE on all emergency calls and inside the fire stations, practicing physical distancing, performing wellness checks, and thoroughly cleaning all fire department facilities.

After a sudden spike in cases within Orlando firefighters, the Orlando Fire Department reported it will test all of its firefighters for COVID-19 after several tested positive for the virus.

Last week COVID-19 sidelined more than 300 firefighters with the Houston Fire Department, who were subsequently quarantined in a hospital or a hotel room after the month of June proved to be full of long work shifts and Coronavirus calls. The Houston Fire Department reported fielding around 1,100 calls for service per day with patients often suffering from respiratory difficulties. Officials with Dallas Fire Rescue report that as of July 4 a total of 55 firefighters and civilian employees have tested positive for COVID-19, with 68 in quarantine after being exposed both while on-duty and off. Whereas the numbers aren’t as large, officials with the Oklahoma City Fire Department enacted an emergency staffing plan on Tuesday after 10 firefighters tested positive for Coronavirus, with more than 55 firefighters quarantined. 

At the Los Angeles Fire Department, 14 firefighters at a station near LAX were home quarantining on Tuesday after testing positive for COVID-19. The firefighters who tested positive were either asymptomatic or showing mild symptoms.

It’s also not only the big city Fire Departments who are being impacted either. Allegheny Township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania just East of Pittsburgh are closing their two stations after a volunteer firefighter tested positive for the Coronavirus over the July 4th holiday weekend. The decision goes to show that taking COVID-19 measures seriously and safely is the best way to protect one and all. 

As if putting extra stress on emergency workers who are often overworked and underpaid isn’t bad enough, along comes fending off the Coronavirus to make things interesting. 

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