Fire Chiefs in one northern Michigan county have plans in place to limit their emergency crews to exposure of COVID-19.
In Leelanau County, seven fire departments have teamed up to dedicate two ambulances to respond to all COVID-19 calls throughout the County.
The Glen Lake Fire Chief says when a call comes in, Central Dispatch will ask about any symptoms. If a patient has signs of the Coronavirus, they’ll send one of the ambulances which has been specially outfitted – and EMT crews with extra protective gear will respond.
Chief Bryan Ferguson says there are 19 first responders across the county who are among those EMTs and firefighters who get sent out on medical calls. “It’s obviously a concern for a lot of people. There’s a pretty good mix of people that want to help, some people are fine going on calls but they don’t necessarily want to work on that dedicated truck where it’s almost a guarantee you’re going to be exposed to somebody that has the virus.”
After each run, the ambulances, which are lined with plastic sheeting, are decontaminated. The seven departments are sharing the costs associated with retrofitting the two ambulances.
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