COVID-19 outbreak hits another North Carolina fire department, officials say
Half a dozen firefighters at a fire department in North Carolina have tested positive for COVID-19 in the latest outbreak to rack local emergency responders.
The City of Sanford reported six firefighters at one of its three fire stations contracted the virus despite all stations having been closed to the public since the pandemic was declared in March, city officials said Thursday in a news release. Sanford is about 45 minutes southwest of Raleigh.
It’s at least the third coronavirus outbreak at a North Carolina fire department since September.
“The employees are currently recovering at home in isolation,” officials said in the release. “To protect their privacy, the employees’ identities will not be released, nor will the City comment on their medical condition.”
All firefighters are being tested for COVID-19 and the Lee County Health Department is conducting contact tracing, according to the release. The city’s fire stations are also being “cleaned and sanitized” between every shift and officials said the “reduction in staff” shouldn’t effect response times.
Lee County has recorded 1,888 cases of the coronavirus and 16 deaths, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Sanford Fire Chief Wayne Barber said the health and safety of his employees is one of his “highest priorities.”
“The Sanford Fire Department follows and exceeds, where possible, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines while providing emergency services to our community,” he said in the release.
The CDC issued COVID-19 safety guidelines for firefighters and EMS workers in April. They urged emergency responders not to come to work if sick or showing symptoms and recommended wearing personal protective equipment on the job. That includes N95 face masks or a regular face mask, disposable examination gloves, eye protection and a “gown or coveralls.”
CDC officials also suggests having patients wear a face covering “if they can tolerate it” and to limit the number of people in a given “patient compartment,” such as the back of an ambulance.
Similar outbreaks in NC
The outbreak in Sanford comes almost two weeks after Wake Forest Fire Department on the other side of Raleigh reported its first case of COVID-19. Fire Station No. 2 at 9925 Ligon Mill Road shut down Oct. 3 in response, but four more firefighters tested positive for the virus within three days.
The Clayton Fire Department was also devastated by an outbreak in August after 17 firefighters contracted COVID-19 and five were hospitalized.
A month later, 42-year-old Deputy Chief Jason Dean died of complications from the coronavirus. Alison Michaud Vessie, the wife of a part-time volunteer Clayton firefighter, died a few days after.
Clayton Fire Chief Lee Barbee told The News & Observer his department was taking the necessary precautions, including sanitizing the fire station daily. But he said it was difficult to stay six feet apart responding to emergencies.
“They don’t eat at the table together anymore — they eat alone,” Barbee said in August. “The bunk rooms they share have now been moved and only one person sleeps in a room. That means some sleeping in the training room or the small gym room.”
Risk of exposure
Firefighters wear a form of PPE in oxygen masks when responding to emergencies, but they also live in communal spaces at fire stations between calls — often overnight. The ease with which infectious diseases spread through fire stations “has been well established as a very serious concern,” according to the International Association of Firefighters.
The IAFF has said fire departments should have a plan in place to mitigate the risk of exposure and protect employees once exposure occurs.
When COVID-19 hit, private consulting and policy manual provider Lexipol issued a set of guidelines for how to reduce firefighters’ risk of exposure to the virus.
“Volunteer firefighters represent the largest segment of the American fire service but face unique challenges to deal with COVID-19 because they respond from home or work,” Lexipol wrote. “The risk for cross-contamination between firefighters and their families is therefore heightened and very real.”
The recommendations include limiting patient contact to one first responder, limiting the amount of gear brought on a call, using the proper PPE, decontamination at the fire station after a call, bagging soiled clothing and changing clothes before entering the home.
