4 Con Fire Firefighters Test Positive For Coronavirus

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — Four employees of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District have tested positive for coronavirus — COVID-19 — the agency announced Wednesday. Under protocols and procedures in place since early March to protect both patients and crews from the risk of inadvertent infection during emergency medical responses, a total of 18 Con Fire employees have been tested, Con Fire Spokesman Steve Hill said.

"Currently, based on having exhibited symptoms — including but not limited to fever, cough, sore throat and other flu-like symptoms — a total of 18 Con Fire employees have been tested for the coronavirus," Hill said. "Of these, 12 have been confirmed as negative, two are isolated off duty awaiting test results, and four are positive, off duty and awaiting a return date based on current published guidelines from the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)."

Con Fire employees who test positive for the virus remain are instructed to remain isolated while off duty and to monitor themselves on an ongoing bases to ensure they receive proper medical care, if needed.

Similarly, employees on duty who experience any symptoms of illness are immediately directed to self-isolate and are further assessed for the need for testing and/or medical treatment.

Employees with negative test results remain self-isolated until their symptoms subside and they can return to work consistent with current guidelines from the CDC.

According to Hill, the four employees who tested positive to date represent approximately 1 percent of the Con Fire workforce and have had no adverse impact on operational staffing.

"The 18 tested employees run the gamut from operations to training, communications and admin," Hill told Patch. "The four positive personnel happen all to be in operations and are firefighters of one rank or another. Not sure what if anything can be inferred from that as we do NOT believe that the exposures are occurring on duty…"

Con Fire officials said early in the medical crisis, the district established enhanced personal protective equipment — PPE —protocols. Based on CDC guidelines, the PPE includes mandatory use of respirators, gloves, medical gowns and eye protection for any interactions with patients exhibiting symptoms or other warning signs for possible risk of infection.

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In addition to PPE enhancements, Con Fire established Emergency Medical Dispatch — EMD— procedures for questioning 911 callers about patient health and possible COVID-19 infection risks. First responders are then informed of any risks while en route to incidents and advised to implement protective equipment and other precautions to prevent inadvertent infection transfer. Additionally, callers may be asked to have the patient move outside, if able, in order to reduce the opportunity for first responders to be exposed inside the home.

"Con Fire is committed to continuing our ability to deliver emergency services to the communities we serve throughout the duration of this evolving health crisis," Con Fire Chief Lewis Broschard said. "Critical to continuity of our operations is the ability to protect our crews, and the patients they serve, from inadvertent infection transfer. We are confident the actions we have taken are doing just that and eliminating to the maximum extent possible risk of infection transfer."

Con Fire officials said Wednesday that since the onset of community spread of the virus, the possibility of infection exposure exists in virtually every aspect of our daily lives. While there likely will never be a way to determine exactly where and when an exposure occurred, the district says its coronavirus safety protocols and procedures are based on CDC guidelines, have been developed and implemented, and are continually monitored by the fire district medical director.

"The COVID-19-related medical dispatch questions, personal protective equipment protocols, and on-scene treatment procedures we have put in place since the early days of this health crisis are proving effective deterrents to the spread of the virus during emergency medical response," Con Fire Medical Director Dr. Peter Benson said. "It is very understandable for the patients we treat to have many concerns about exposure to the Coronavirus but, in our view, treatment by well-protected first responders should not be one of those concerns."

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