Public safety personnel at some of the county’s small-town fire departments are slowly running out of the equipment that’s needed to protect them.
As COVID-19 cases and calls from people experiencing severe flu-like symptoms go up, the amount of personal protective equipment (PPE) goes down.
The departments’ needs are not yet dire, but the county’s Joint Incident Management Team is working all of its sources in an effort to acquire enough PPE to make sure that doesn’t happen, said Mike Pruitt, spokesperson for the local task force.
The greatest need for PPE is found at the county’s small-town fire departments, such as the Trafalgar Volunteer Fire Department and Edinburgh Fire Department. Both recently took to social media to ask for supplies, their greatest need being N-95 or surgical masks.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe shortage is not just a local issue. It is widespread, Pruitt said. Local first responders are taking precautions to conserve limited supplies of PPE, said Pruitt, who is also assistant chief at the Bargersville Community Fire Department.
Trafalgar has just one box of masks left, Chief Mike Dunn said. Like fire departments and medical teams everywhere, firefighters are disinfecting masks between shifts to conserve the scarce equipment, he said.
At Edinburgh, there are enough masks on hand for now, but the department is preparing to fight COVID-19 for as long as they have to, with no end in sight, said Brandon Routier, deputy operations chief.
“It’s not dire right now. We are looking to add to our supply to weather the storm,” Routier said. “We don’t know how long this will last.”
The county’s incident management team is hoping to tap into the state’s stockpile and work with bulk suppliers to gather a large pool of supplies for all of the county’s agencies, Pruitt said.
Generosity has helped. Trafalgar, Edinburgh and departments across the county have seen it from the community and local businesses, which have donated masks, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and meals, department leaders said.
They’re encouraging residents to avoid calling 911 for non-life threatening situations during this widespread public health emergency, Pruitt said. If possible, residents should call their primary care doctor before calling an ambulance, he said.
Public safety agencies are seeing a decrease in accidents and injuries, but they are seeing a noticeable increase in sick-person calls, Pruitt said. On those runs, public safety personnel must wear full PPE suits, gloves and masks, with additional measures taken on runs for patients displaying flu-like symptoms, he said.
So far, local public safety personnel has avoided contracting the virus by using PPE and practicing social distancing. Still, departments are preparing for the worst.
“Right now, we are doing well countywide, and most of our agencies are staying healthy,” Pruitt said. “But we are planning for how to continue to staff our agencies if we start losing 10 or more at any fire department.”
Full-time departments like Edinburgh ask firefighters to socially distance at home too, and have rearranged living quarters and reorganized staffing to promote social distancing at work, even when they’re not out on a run, Routier said.
For volunteer departments like Trafalgar, it is more difficult to make sure firefighters steer clear from the virus when they’re not on duty, because many have other full-time jobs, Dunn said.
While the threat of the virus looms, local firefighters will need to continue to don PPE.
“It (the virus) is in the back of your mind. People are on a more heightened alert,” Dunn said. “At the end of the day, our job is to help people. We are going to take every step that we can to keep ourselves safe and keep the people safe.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”How to help” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Here is a look at how you can help local public safety departments:
Johnson County residents with extra PPE, such as N-95 or surgical masks, are asked to contact public safety agencies who have asked for help acquiring those supplies.
To donate to the Edinburgh Fire Department, call 812-526-3536.
To donate to the Trafalgar Volunteer Fire Department, call 317-878-4291.
To donate to the county stockpile being compiled by the Joint Incident Management Team, call the Bargersville Community Fire Department at 317-422-5187.
The Indiana State Department of Health requests that residents with large quantities of PPE supplies contribute to the state stockpile by emailing [email protected] with a description of those supplies.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
