The City of Rochester announced Friday afternoon that firefighters would begin wearing protective masks in the fire stations as well as in public.
The announcement said the move was effective immediately. Rochester firefighters have already been wearing enhanced personal protective equipment (PPE) while on medical calls for the past four weeks.
“We don’t want to surprise people when they see us out in public or when we show up on the scene of a call wearing masks,” RFD Deputy Chief Vance Swisher said in a news release. “Due to the nature of our job and not always being able to social distance ourselves, the masks offer another important way to protect the community.”
In addition to the masks, firefighters wear eye protection, gloves and gowns whenever appropriate on emergency calls.