Photo by Tobias Rehbein from Pexels
By Morgan Stevens
Frontline workers have had to adapt to covid regulations. More personal protective equipment has become necessary, but the ways that coworkers work together has not changed. In fire departments there are both fire and rescue teams and stationed EMT’s. Both of these teams have had to adapt differently though.
When responding to a medical call, EMT’s now have to treat every person they come in contact with as if they had covid. This is to make sure that the disease is not spread from asymptomatic people. According to Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue Chief, Ed Hartin, he says, “In the beginning we tried to sort out who might be a covid patient and who might not be a covid patient and we would try to sort out what kind of PPE we would wear based on what the patient told us. Now we treat everybody the same.” Before the pandemic, EMT’s would wear gloves and eye protection to their calls just as a standard medical precaution. This is one thing that paramedics and EMT’s have not had to adapt to whereas Firefighters have. Fire fighters have had to implement some of the same precautions that the EMT’s have in place. They now wear gloves when in contact with others. They wear their mask any time they are on the clock and the respect social distancing rules as best as they are able to. They are not however required to wear eye protection like EMT’s have to wear. The way that both firefighters and EMT’s have become even more similar in their procedures is how they asses their situation. Hartin explained that in firefighting, the first fire engine to show up will go in and look at the situation then see how many people it will take to fix the problem. This is similar to how EMT’s are now assessing situations. One EMT will go into the house where the sick person is and find out how many people and what equipment they will need in order to help them. Before covid, all personnel would rush into the house to help.
Aside from personal protection, the department had to adjust to cleaning everything more frequently. Disinfecting surfaces from countertops to steering wheels were all a necessary part of keeping every person in the fire department safe and healthy.
The pandemic has not affected how people work together in the fire station. Chief Hartin says, “There is and has been a pretty good working dynamic and that has continued. There is some stress because of the pandemic but that hasn’t had a big impact on people’s interactions.” This is reassuring because knowing that first responders are still working well together even through stress means that there will not be a problem on the jobsite or when responding to any calls.
During the first couple of months the department scrambled to supply masks. Because of such high demand for mask usage for frontline workers, they had to pull from interesting resources. Civilians were told to not wear masks for a bit of time so that those who worked in the frontline were able to have the supply they needed. The community heled out by making cloth masks and giving them out to people so that they would be able to work with them. The other place that the Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue got their masks from was a paint store. One of the captains, Jerry Helm, had the idea to go and buy out the rest of the masks from a local paint store so that they had enough supply. Once the mask scare was over and masks became readily available again, the stress of the whole community settled down.
Fire departments serve the community. If it were not for them, there would be many problems that would go unsolved. Not only do they put out fires, but they also help with most other problems. When there are car accidents they are there and ready to help. When powerlines fall, they are there. When there is a problem, they are there to serve the people. Not only do they help when they are called to do so, but they are a good example to the public. During this pandemic, fire departments from everywhere have joined together to help keep the community safe. By showing leadership, they help people realize that they can get through this pandemic. Chief Hartin’s advise to the people is to wash their hands, wear a mask and just stay safe out there.
