Sarita Patel
Many of us worked from home during the pandemic, but what if your job requires you to be on the front lines? Castanet News is featured in a series this week highlighting how first responders are dealing with COVID-19.
At the Kelowna Fire Department, every shift begins with a rigorous cleaning of the station and equipment. Social distance is also maintained between the layers.
The exact types of emergency calls firefighters respond to has changed.
Deputy Operations Manager Larry Hollier says they now only go to the “critical missions,” including car accidents, technical rescues, BC Ambulance lifters, and of course, fires.
The crews coordinate with paramedics to perform “entry assessments” before entering a house and to ask if anyone is sick or has left the country in the last 14 days.
“If entering this residence actually makes a difference in the patient’s outcome … then our crews will actually be doing full PPE, but we’re trying to minimize PPE use at this point,” said Hollier.
The fire department has restricted access to their halls, implemented shutdown tours for children and discontinued drive-by birthday parties.
“We’ve tightened it up a bit in the department, and that’s difficult for the crews because they’re very social,” says Hollier, adding that kids are a great interaction with firefighters.
“Even if we go to a venue for a birthday party, we’re like a magnet, so the crews will have a hard time saying no. We don’t want that, so let’s try not to put them in this position now. “
With COVID-19 restrictions slowly being lifted, Kelowna firefighters are reminding the public to stay safe.
“We can’t predict anything, this is just a slow implementation to see what will happen and may have to step back, but hopefully things will gradually get better and we can get back to normal life,” said Captain Jason Stoodley.
Hollier thanked the Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery, which had been supplying the fire fighters in the regional district with hand disinfectants and hard surface cleaners free of charge from day one.
“They have supported other frontline forces as well. Fabulous company and hope everyone supports them.”
You can also read how RCMP and paramedics navigate the pandemic.
