Florida Keys first responders quarantined after potential coronavirus exposure
Last Saturday, five first responders with Islamorada Fire Rescue responded to a call that someone slipped and fell.
The person, it turns out, was ill and has since tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Now, those firefighters and medics, who are asymptomatic, are in quarantine. Although some were wearing personal protective equipment, some weren’t because they didn’t know the patient was positive.
“Changed policy now so all crews go to all calls in full PPE, and hopefully we can stay ahead of the curve of burn rate versus supplies,” Islamorada Chief Terry Abel said in an email Wednesday.
Despite the challenges of responding to regular emergency calls and potential COVID-19 cases, Abel said his team of 30 firefighters and medics is in good spirits.
“Our crews are doing good physically and mentally,” he said.
His is not the only department in the Keys contending with a significant portion of its men and women out of the field and in quarantine.
Five first responders in Key Largo are in quarantine because they were potentially exposed to someone with the novel coronavirus, their chief said Wednesday.
Another medic had been quarantined, but that person has been cleared, said Chief Don Bock, who leads both the Key Largo Volunteer Fire Department and the Key Largo Ambulance Corps.
Both outfits are two separate entities that fall under a special taxing district in the unincorporated area of Key Largo — the Key Largo Fire and Emergency Medical Services District.
The Key Largo Ambulance Corps has nine paid part-time medics and 28 volunteers. The fire department has 13 full-time paid members and 30 volunteers, Bock said.
Three of the cases are related to possible exposure to a patient with COVID-19, and three “are unrelated to fire rescue exposure,” Bock said.
“None have received a positive test result, but all are in quarantine to reduce the possibility of potential exposure to others,” Bock said.
As of Wednesday, the Department of Health reports 51 people in the Keys have tested positive for COVID-19, and three people have died.
Of those cases, 45 of the infected are residents and six are from out of the county, the Health Department said.
Key Largo medics and firefighters have been responding to every call as if it were a potential COVID-19 call, Bock said, adding they wear N95 masks, goggles and gloves.
“This is a very dynamic and challenging period,” he said.
It’s not immediately clear if firefighters in any of the other Keys municipalities, such as the cities of Marathon and Key West, are experiencing similar challenges.
Monroe County Fire Rescue Chief James Callahan said none of his approximately 120 firefighters have had to quarantine themselves so far during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Not at this time, thank goodness,” Callahan said.
This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Florida Keys first responders quarantined after potential coronavirus exposure."
