Local first responders are prepared to handle COVID-19 calls
BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Boone County Fire Protection District is set to receive a shipment of personal protective equipment (PPE) from the state in the near future.
This comes after state leaders addressed the need for first responder equipment in a news conference Friday afternoon.
"Today, I'm happy to report that we have a truck being loaded right now with pallets to go to our hospitals into our emergency service personnel," Missouri Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten said. "Shortly after this press conference, I will join a conference call with law enforcement and firefighters statewide that will be providing them information regarding personal protective equipment, and the status of our orders of that and how to receive that."
The PPE shipment comes during a time when medical equipment essentials are in high demand.
"Hopefully it all comes at one time but I'd be surprised if it does, just because of the way the supply chains are working right now and how difficult some things are to get," said Gale Blomenkamp, an assistant chief for the Boone County Fire Protection District. "But SEMA and the state are working hard to supply all the fire departments in the state of Missouri with the personal protective equipment they need to battle this pandemic."
Although a new shipment of gear is coming, the Boone County Fire Protection District assistant chief says they have been prepared to handle any cases related to COVID-19 since February.
"We can not ourselves be overrun by this virus, because then there's nobody else to take our place," Blomenkamp said. "It's important and the state recognizes that and they're doing a great job trying to support all emergency responders in the field."
BCFPD firefighters are trained to handle COVID-19 calls like they do for hazmat calls.
"We have a cold zone, a warm zone and a hot zone -- cold zone being anything outside of the residence, the warm zone would be at that front door," Blomenkamp said. "Once we enter that area or transition from the warm zone, to now we're going to make patient contact or put hands on that patient, that's a hot zone."
This is where the PPE comes into play because when first responders are equipped properly, in theory, they won't be susceptible to catching the virus.
"One person can do that patient contact with their proper PPE on and we keep one person in the warm zone that can hand them equipment, so we're limiting exposure in the hot zone," Blomenkamp said. "Once that person comes out of the hot zone, we decontaminate them and we move onto the next one."
Blomenkamp says the PPE should not affect their response time if the department does what they're supposed to do.
"It's incumbent upon us to wear the proper PPE to wear it appropriately and to treat this thing the way it should be treated and it's potentially a serious event whenever we go out the door," Blomenkamp said. "That's how we train our people -- if we go out on a back pain call, we ask those questions upfront and we try to screen those calls before we make entry into the house, so just because we don't know if that person has tested positive, we should treat it as if it is tested positive."
PPE or personal protective equipment consists of gloves, an N-95 mask, goggles, long sleeves that cover skin and closed toes shoes.
"We've trained our people on it, they're ready to do it, we've been doing it," Blomenkamp said. "If they're wearing the proper PPE and I'm making contact with my proper PPE to a COVID positive patient, I'm not exposed to any danger, I've got the stuff on that protects me, and that's what we're trying to teach our people, that's what our people are doing."
For Blomenkamp, his team is ready to handle whatever comes their way.
"For the fire district, we just continue our normal responses, we have a job to do, and I can assure you our volunteers and our firefighters are ready to do that, that's why we're here," Blomenkamp said.
