WILBRAHAM – Firefighters are on the front lines of the fight against the novel coronavirus and the illness it causes, COVID-19.

“We’re immersed in it now,” said Capt. Daniel Corliss of the Wilbraham Fire Department. With an emergency call volume of 10 to 15 calls per shift, he said about one-third of those meet the criteria for possible COVID-19 case. He had four confirmed cases during one recent shift.

Reminder Publishing met with Corliss and received a guided tour of the step-by-step procedures that the department uses daily to keep themselves and the public safe during the pandemic.

Since the second week in March, firefighters reporting for duty undergo a health screening that includes having their temperature taken and answering questions about exposure, upper respiratory symptoms and travel. Corliss said all residential board and care facilities in town have similar policies in place

 “We spent a lot of time thinking about what we're going to need next,” when designing the protocols, he said. “Our controls aren’t much different than the social distancing and masks there now telling people to wear,” Corliss said, even though it looks different and there are multiple layers.

Firefighters have created a number of that are built into their everyday work lives.

Instead of arriving in uniform, Corliss said, they report to work in their civilian clothes. Uniforms and gear in the station and laundered at the end of each shift.

The firefighters wear full personal protective equipment (PPE) when answering every call. In addition to goggles and n95 masks, the firefighters wear pants and coats made of PVC or polyethylene suits, such as those made by Tyvek for painting.

 “We're protecting ourselves from you but we're also protecting you from us,” Corliss said.

There are three firefighters on each call, two of whom interact with the patient. Corliss said the driver disinfects the other firefighters after contact with the patient. He demonstrated the way the department connects air tanks, which normally allow firefighters to breathe in a fire, to canisters of disinfectant to spray down gear and equipment used with patients.

The protective gear is taken off before getting into the front of the truck and put back on at the hospital to interact with the patient again.

There are layers of decontamination procedures in place. The ambulances are cleaned after every call. Ultraviolet lights are used to disinfect surfaces and a HEPA filter runs in the truck, screening out contaminants as small as .3 microns. The doors of the ambulance are left open for airflow.

 If the number of cases increases to a certain point the department will dedicate one of their three ambulances to the transportation of COVID-19 patients and line the inside with plastic to make it easier to disinfect.

The gear is not allowed beyond a certain point in the station to keep it from contaminating other areas. Boot trays filled with sanitizer have been set up around the garage area of the building to decontaminate the soles of boots.

Corliss said it is important to follow decontamination procedures.

 “We can slow things down and be more methodical,” Corliss said. “We’ve become remarkably efficient. Now a lot of [other departments] are reaching out to us,” Corliss said adding that they are happy to share strategies that work.

Even with all of the precautions in place, exposure still happens, Corliss said, partly because the department is cobbling together PPE from various manufacturers whose products have not been “fit tested.” Also, firefighters are reusing single-use masks to stretch there supply amid a global shortage.

“What we can hope for as a nation is that the private sector production,” of PPE increases, Corliss said. “The more hands the lighter the load.”

Any members of the department who are exposed must be quarantined for 14 days. So far the department has had four people go through quarantine, although not at the same time. He said the department is encouraging firefighters to use sick leave if needed

Corliss said having personnel shortages due to quarantine can create potentially dangerous situations.

 “You can't schedule emergencies,” he said. That is why Wilbraham recently joined with seven other community fire departments in the area in a mutual aid agreement to share personnel in situations in which a significant portion of a department is in quarantine.

Corliss admitted there is a mental and emotional toll that comes with such prolonged vigilance.

“To a certain degree, it's good to be a bit naive,” said Corliss. He said that it’s one thing to think about the possibility of infection, but when “fully immersed in it, it becomes realized. It's very real to us. It's not often we have to sustain this mental anguish.” Corliss reflected on the PTSD that combat veterans suffer. “Could I see that coming? Absolutely.”

Despite the stress that the firefighters are under, he said there are bright spots.

“If you're looking at silver linings, people are doing things,” Corliss said, referencing the slew of homemade masks that the public has donated and the number of people who drop off food to first responders. “People are so individually invested.”