COVID-19 scare at Naples fire station has firefighters stepping up safety measures

Before and after emergencies, firefighters in Naples are taking extra precautions after a close call at one station.

”We got an email that our chief wasn’t feeling well, that he had a fever, and for us not to report to duty, to work on Thursday—’it was scary,” said Tarin Bachle with Naples Fire District.

Station One sat empty while the chief got tested for the flu and COVID-19—luckily both results came back negative.

“It appeared to be just some 48-hour fluke.. but this goes to show that anyone could be sick at any time, we just don’t know,” Bachle said.

Firefighters have now stepped up measures to protect themselves against coronavirus by wearing masks, disinfecting and deep cleaning equipment and fire engines frequently.

Station One firefighters even developed a mechanism filled with hydrogen peroxide, that works like a paint sprayer to aid in the disinfecting.

Battalion Chief Phillip Pennington. said, ”With some of the resources we found, people were using basically a paint sprayer-type of set up—we saw some other videos on it and the chief asked if we could make it work and we did.”

They use the spray before and after every potential exposure to help protect themselves.

Crews are also carrying sanitizer, and get routine check-ups.