If you get into a wreck – and, really, you shouldn’t be out and about – don’t be surprised if the firefighter helping you is wearing a mask. Not an oxygen mask, but a surgical mask.
Spring Valley fire chief Todd Bogatitus huddled recently with his fellow fire chiefs and returned with some new orders for his company. From now on, everybody wears not only fire gear but latex gloves, surgical masks and goggles. One first-responder is to go in ahead of everybody else to assess the risk of coronavirus. More changes are on the way.
“When we go into a scene we proceed with the assumption that coronavirus is there,” Bogatitus said. “Coronavirus is new to everybody, and every other day it’s changing.”