Many changes to Okotoks fire services due to COVID-19

The way Okotoks firefighters respond to emergencies, interact with the public and complete day-to-day tasks has changed drastically in the past six weeks.

With more than 4,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alberta – the majority of which are in the Calgary area – firefighters are at a high risk of contracting the illness, but those in Okotoks are well prepared.

“If anybody sees our firefighters going to medical calls now they’re in isolation gowns, wearing face masks or N95 masks and are covered up as much as is entirely possible,” said Okotoks Fire Department acting fire chief Pat MacIsaac. “They were doing a water rescue on the weekend wearing masks while in the boat, which looks out of the ordinary, but that’s just the reality of it now.”

MacIsaac said it’s all about protecting themselves, each other and the public.

Rather than entering a building as a group, one firefighter will typically enter alone to make an assessment and determine the risk to the others, he said.

“It’s pretty strategic, especially on medical calls - they’ve got to make some pretty quick decisions in some pretty trying circumstances,” MacIsaac said. “Going into a fire is not something that’s done without understanding the hazards and risks involved and it’s not done without all of the proper procedures and equipment in place. We have to put those same metrics into place, so we’re trying to adapt as we go along.”

In the event members are exposed to COVID-19, MacIsaac said procedures are in place to get them to the hall safely and into a contamination area set up for such purposes.

Despite all of the preparations and preventative measures, MacIsaac said there remains an element of fear.

“The unknowns are stressful,” he said. “It’s a huge concern. We are very cognizant of our own safety. We’re certainly trying to keep it in perspective and have a huge admiration for everybody who is working hard to get through the crisis.”

Firefighters are not only protecting themselves while out on calls, but also at the fire stations. The once communal facilities now look very different, MacIsaac said.

“We maintain physical distancing - even within the halls - we wear masks in the trucks and there’s no more communal meals,” he said. “The crews coming on shift come in a different entrance than those getting off shift to minimize interaction. Prior to coming on shift we now do a screening questionnaire.”

Much of the workload is now cleaning and sanitizing, MacIsaac said.

“It’s pretty regimented,” he said. “Every time you sit down at a table, when you get up it’s cleaned and sanitized. When you leave the room you have to clean everything you touched and make sure everything is sanitized and safe for your teammates. The day-to-day routines take up a lot of time.”

With more people at home and travel at a minimum, firefighters are also noticing changes in the calls they’re responding to, MacIsaac said.

Motor vehicle accidents dropped due to a reduction in traffic while medical calls remain steady and alarm calls - mostly due to cooking incidents - are beginning to rise, he said.

Another change firefighters are experiencing is the way they train, due to social distancing regulations and mass gathering restrictions implemented by the Province last month.

Rather than train as a team, MacIsaac said most is done online.

In the last few weeks, members are focusing on maintaining regular contact with their regional partners across the Foothills.

“If one of the departments in the area requires help, we have mutual aid agreements in place for us to go and help,” MacIsaac said. “We’re making sure we’re all got similar protective measures so we’re not into going into another area doing things different.”

Efforts to keep firefighters physically distanced from the public have resulted in a new way of spreading fire prevention messaging, now that members can no longer enter buildings for inspections, elementary schools for teaching opportunities or host fire station tours, MacIsaac said.

“The biggest change for us is not being able to do fire prevention messaging and activities the traditional way that we’ve been doing it,” he said. “Part of our fire prevention mandate is getting into the community, so one of the things we miss the most is getting out to visit people.”

MacIsaac said a lot of the messaging is done through the department’s website at https://www.okotoks.ca/town-services/public-safety/fire. He encourages families to take the extra time they have at home to perform fire and safety inspections from changing batteries in smoke detectors to practicing fire escape plans.

“There’s a check sheet on the fire department page that people can follow through and make sure that they’re covering the bases of fire safety in their homes,” he said. “There’s some really good resources there involving children that gets them active and involved in fire safety.

"If you start engraining this into kids at an early age it tends to follow them through their life.”

Although the firefighters are taking every precaution to be safe while out in the public, they are remaining visible by driving past homes and sounding their sirens to celebrate birthdays for seniors and children – with more than 250 visits to date - and paying tribute to health care workers during Ignite the Light on Fridays at 7 p.m.

“We have to look at ways that we can support the social fabric of the community in non-traditional ways.”