COVID-19. How Are You Disinfecting Your Apparatus?

With more and more firefighters becoming infected with the COVID-19 virus everyone is focused on personal disinfecting and distancing. But what are departments doing to disinfect apparatus? Fire apparatus are full of hard surfaces and just as susceptible to the COVID-19 virus remaining active if not neutralized. Apparatus on the scene of an alarm can be subject to being contaminated by fellow firefighters, mutual aid companies and even Joe average citizen who always seem to be fascinated with fire apparatus at an alarm. Below are a few ideas for consideration...

- Do your existing fire apparatus have one-time use disposable latex gloves for your members and are they readily available? If not, this can be addressed quickly by contacting your local fire equipment dealer and purchasing several boxes of good quality latex gloves. With new apparatus builds, many departments are now incorporating holders into their cab designs for disposable glove boxes where they can be readily available to the crew. Many departments already have an SOG that firefighters are to wear latex gloves under their structural firefighting gloves as an added layer of protection. After one use dispose of the gloves.

- Apply disinfectant to seats, door handles, steering wheel, dashboard, radio mic, glass windows and all controls. Disinfectants are commonly available in a liquid/spray formula or an individual towelette. Make sure you properly clean your rig after each alarm so it’s ready to go when the next call comes in. Make sure you follow the manufacturer's guidelines for the disinfectant portion of the product you are using. Don’t assume it’s a simple spray on and wipe off and you’re done. Many products require a waiting period (ten minutes seems common) for the disinfecting properties to take effect.

- Many EMS agencies have been utilizing UV-C Disinfection Lamps in their rigs for years. These lamps are typically mounted within the patient compartment roof and have been proven to disinfect air and surfaces. (These are only used when there no one is in the patient compartment). Maybe the fire service needs to take a page from there EMS brothers and incorporate something like this into future fire apparatus?

- Disinfecting your SCBA mask & pak after every use. 3M/SCOTT Safety recommends this product for all their air paks. https://georgiasteelco.com/products/fg350-g

- Placing the clean SCAB mask in a Sterile style plastic bag, that can be tied closed immediately after disinfecting so all know it has been disinfected and ready for use. https://georgiasteelco.com/products/single-box-sterile-storage-bags-part-fp52. The days of leaving a SCBA mask open and exposed on top of an air pak cylinder in a jump seat are long gone.

- Disinfecting the pump panel controls with spray or towelettes. A simple and effective product can be a can of Lysol disinfectant. Keep a can in the pump operator's compartment and apply to the entire pump panel after an alarm.

When cleaning fire apparatus, members should utilize an approved disinfectant to sanitize all touch surfaces in the apparatus. Members might want to consider wearing a disposable gown and gloves. A N95 or surgical mask and perhaps even a disposable face shield might be a consideration to prevent splashing. A list of approved disinfectants is available here: https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2. Many local fire equipment suppliers are able to secure these disinfecting products for you at a more reasonable price as they will typically buy in bulk. During this crisis orders that are dropped shipped directly to a fire department or emergency services agency from the manufacturer might be given priority as opposed to an order going to a local vendor who then would deliver it. So make sure to inquire with your local fire equipment vendor about all the options for shipping product so it gets to your agency as soon as possible.

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