HOLMES BEACH, Fla. — Each day, we learn more about COVID-19 and how the attempt to flatten the curve of infection is temporarily changing people’s lives.
Schools, restaurants, bars and many more businesses are being forced to shut down because of the coronavirus. A lot of businesses are letting people work from home, but that’s not an option for all professions.
“Law enforcement needs to be out. The medical people need to be out. The fire department will always need to be out,” Holmes Beach Police Chief William Tokajer said.
He's one of those people whose job can’t be done from the kitchen table or the couch.
“As a police officer you’ve got to be here,” Tokajer said.
“You cannot take a domestic violence call over the phone and say put your husband on the phone, stop hitting her. You know there’s a lot of things that just can’t be done.”
Because of the nature of their job, to protect the community, first responders are always on the front lines.
“We want to assure the public that we stand ready to respond to any type of emergency, any 911 emergency and take care of it,” Sarasota County Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Carsten Sanders said.
But not without taking some extra precautions.
“Any time that there’s infectious disease ... we always have another level of protection that we can employ to make sure that our paramedics stay safe, stay able to treat every patient and run every 911 call,” Sanders said.
You’ll see firefighters wearing gloves and eye protection.
“People are constantly scratching their face or putting their finger towards their eyes, so we want to make sure when they are wearing these gloves and may have something on them that they don’t accidentally touch their face,” Sanders said.
You can also expect to see them wearing a special suit called a Tyvek Coverall Suit. Sanders showed us what it looks like on one of his firefighters, Nicole Smith. It’s a while suit that is designed to protect a firefighter’s uniform, which they wear for the full 24 hours that they’re on duty.
“This keeps any splash and sneezing, coughing or anything that’s in the house from getting onto her uniform,” Sanders said. “And this can be discarded in a biohazard when she takes the patient to the hospital.”
Another layer of protection, and a hot commodity right now -- masks.
They use two different kinds. One is a regular surgical mask that they give to patients to wear, and the other is called a N95 Particulate mask. Both firefighters and police officers are wearing them, when necessary.
“The N95 mask has a little more protection and a little more particulates that keeps from breathing those in,” Sanders said.
Police Chief Tokajer says procedures are even being altered in all departments to limit the chances of officers catching the virus. Many non-emergency cases are being handled over the phone.
“If it’s something that can be done over the phone, we’ll do it over the phone,” Tokajer said. “If it’s something that’s going to be handled in the field we’re trying to get the people, instead of the officers going into the house, trying to get the people to come out into the air where there is less of a chance to catch the virus.”
Officers are also not driving together to practice social distancing and were given hand sanitizer. Some agencies like the Sarasota and Manatee County Sherriff’s office have also temporarily suspended all public fingerprinting services.
As a first responder, you’re constantly exposed to risk. In this case, Chief Tokajer says they have to adjust -- but keep moving forward.
“There are essential functions that will still need to carry on and hopefully everybody stays healthy enough to do that,” Tokajer said.
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