Houston Firefighters Down
The City of Houston released yesterday that it was providing a secure spot for four Houston Firefighters who were exposed to COVID-19 to quarantine. Once the city became aware that the firefighters were unable to quarantine at home, Fire Chief Sam Pena arranged accommodations for them with the help of the Mayor's office.
"The safety of our firefighters and their families is my primary concern. I presonally secured a location for quarantine on behalf of the City" Sam Pena stated. He said that the 4 firefighters would be monitored by health care professionals according to the CDC guideline until they are released back to work.
Virus Spreading Like Wildfire
The firefighters were considered medium to high-risk exposure since they treated a patient that has tested positive for COVID-19. A media release stated that "the employee may not have worn the proper personal protection equiptment issues to all firefighters" and that they will be monitored for 14 days. If they do not develop symptoms, they wil be sent back to regular duty.
Recently, Houston Fire Department tweeted that one of the firefighters did develope symptoms that warranted further testing and was sent to the hospital. The firefighter was tested at a local ER and sent back to quarantine. No further information has been released.
HFD is the third largest fire department in the United States, it has just over 4000 active firefighters on duty. We will continue to watch closely the situation.
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