Homemade decontamination units proving effective for county fire department

One of the many challenges faced by local emergency service providers during the current COVID-19 outbreak is finding ways to efficiently disinfect and decontaminate equipment to keep from potentially transmitting the virus from person to person, both on calls and in their own buildings.

The Catoosa County Fire Department recently found a way to make things easier and to save a little money in the process.

Taking a cue from fellow firefighters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the department crafted a homemade decontamination unit that has proven extremely effective in the past month since concerns about the outbreak began to surface locally.

The department recently released a short video on Facebook showing how the decon unit worked.

“I had a couple of people send it to me (as) another department had done it,” explained Brad Buchanan, assistant chief of training for the county. “We took an old air pack and went to Stapp Auto Parts in Ringgold and bought a regulator, a (paint) spray gun, some fittings and a five-foot air hose and just plumbs right into the airline on the air pack. It uses the air from our self-contained breathing apparatus that we use at fires.”

The unit holds one quart of an alcohol-based surface sanitizer and Buchanan said it was enough to decon 12 to 15 people at once. The spray is also used to decon the fire trucks every morning and after calls and is also effective in cleaning personal protection equipment, as well as high-traffic areas in the firehouse itself.

“Trucks, seats, floorboards, doors, equipment, the day room, the kitchen, the bathroom in the station and all of that,” he added. “Anything that’s not electronic. We’ll take (disinfecting) wipes and wipe down the radios, the mobiles and important stuff like that.”

Buchanan said each of the stations in the county’s fire department put together and are currently using the decon units, which were made for about $80 each. According to the Facebook video, a commercial decontamination fogger machine to do the same job will run as much as $600 apiece.

“We’ve already got plans in the works for, after the pandemic is over, to carry on and use these units on a regular basis at our stations, on our trucks and so forth,” he added.

County Fire Chief Randy Camp said in an online forum Tuesday afternoon, April 14, that the units are working very well and it’s just one step in many that his department and crews are taking to help protect themselves and the citizens they assist.

Those steps include additional PPE based on the information given to them by 911 dispatchers. The dispatchers are currently asking additional virusrelated questions to callers to assess what additional steps first responders might need to take with them and use to stay safe.

He said all of the equipment and gear, along with medical bags and oxygen bottles, are also decontaminated after every call to make things safe for the next call.

“It ensures that when we walk into your home, we have been de-conned when we get there and that further helps against exposure to the virus itself,” Camp said. “We’re also doing some things internally. We’re trying to keep our distance when we can. Of course, you’ve got multiple firefighters riding in the truck within six feet (of each other). Some of these things are kind of hard to eliminate just by the nature of the job itself.

“But we are cleaning our hands when we go to calls and we’re doing the decontamination a lot more than what we’re used to.”

Camp said some of the ampedup COVID-19 procedures that have recently been put in place may become permanent ones once the crisis is over.

“I think like any other crisis in our country, whether it’s local, state or federal, we learn from it,” he added. “We’re also addressing some of these things that maybe this is how we should conduct business from here on out.”

Buchanan said that safety comes first, especially in dealing with the COVID-19 situation.

“We have standard operating procedures in place now that every medical call we run gets masks, eye protection and gloves,” he said. “If (patients) have signs or symptoms of corona or something like that, we’ll go ahead and deck out in safety gowns also.

“It’s a great big concern to the health and safety of our guys, especially working together and running calls that could possibly be corona-related or (dealing with) someone that could have it and not know it and not showing symptoms yet. We’re taking the proper precautions to protect our guys and protect the citizens of Catoosa. We’re trying to do everything we can to slow the spread down.”

Scott Herpst is sports editor for the Walker County Messenger in Lafayette, Ga., and Catoosa County News in Ringgold, Ga.