The Chattanooga Fire Department has policies and procedures in place to protect the wellbeing of firefighters working around the clock during the COVID-19 state of emergency. Those protocols have been implemented and are being closely followed.
When responding to calls of a sick person, CFD is limiting the number of responders who go into the room with the patient in an effort to reduce exposure while still providing emergency care.
If the patient is displaying symptoms of the virus, decontamination methods are followed and enforced.
If there is possible exposure, firefighters will be isolated at our training center for observation. They will be tested if they start to show symptoms.
911 dispatchers are assisting with EMS calls by asking various questions to pinpoint patients’ issues and if the situation does involve a respiratory illness and fever, we are treating the response with the necessary precautions.
Firefighters are equipped with gloves, N-95 masks and eye protection. This gear is what CFD always keeps in stock and it is part of our normal operations. We have reached out to several vendors to get more of these items and we are waiting to receive them, like many other public safety agencies.
To ensure the best staffing and response to calls for service, CFD has canceled all training events and public engagements.
Our call volume has been normal, with a slight uptick in patients reporting respiratory problems.
The department is also looking at pulling back on our response to non-emergency calls in order to have firefighters ready and healthy to handle major emergencies.
“We can’t predict what will happen next, but we are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best outcome. We know the citizens of Chattanooga are relying on us,” Fire Chief Phil Hyman said.
All of our fire stations remain open and operational.
Currently, there are several Chattanooga firefighters in isolation and others are under self-quarantine after being potentially exposed to people with COVID-19 symptoms.
On Friday, two firefighters responded to a call involving someone with respiratory issues and as a result, they are being quarantined at home. On Sunday, a firefighter came to work with a respiratory illness which resulted in the accompanying crew being isolated and observed at the Fire Training Center for the time being.
As a result, the training center has been shut down and access denied with the exception of the isolated firefighters. The sick firefighter was set home to self-quarantine and he was tested for COVID-19 on Monday.
The isolation of the other firefighters on his crew will remain in place until testing results can be evaluated.
Contact Us
Chattanooga,TN 37406