Coronavirus: Quarantined Guilford Firefighters OK, Back To Work

EAST HAVEN, CT — Joe Deko and Chris Jones got what they thought was a “routine call” that day. Deko and Jones, Guilford Fire Department firefighter/EMTs, were called to a home for a man with a “dementia-related crisis.” They helped the man and transported him to the hospital.

A week later came the call, this one not routine.

A fire department captain told Deko that they were exposed to a patient who had tested positive for COVID-19. Four Guilford Police officers were also exposed. All of the Guilford Police officers who were quarantined are back on the job and in good health, police said.

“I was surprised. We didn’t have any symptoms and we didn’t have any patients who had symptoms,” Deko said.

And, at that point, the first responders were not wearing N-95 respirator masks as that order was not yet in place.

“When I was told who the patient was, I was surprised. At the time, we didn’t have any concerns about exposure.”

But they had been exposed and so were ordered quarantined for seven days as the call had been a week before. “We were told if all goes well, we’ll be back at work.”

Deko would quarantine at his home. He’s single and does not have children. Jones is a married father. Deko was told Jones would be put in an unmanned volunteer firehouse to wait it out. Deko had a better idea.

“I said he can come to my house and we’ll do this together,” Deko said.” And it was agreed. The two men were quarantined together in Deko’s East Haven home for a week.

“I cannot stress this enough: the fire departments, both Guilford and East Haven, and police from both towns were fantastic. You know there’s a real brotherhood with firefighters and cops and the guys we work with ...well, my phone never stopped ringing for seven days. Guys went out of their way every day. They had our backs in true brotherhood fashion.”

All the supplies the men needed were brought to them. They were checked on almost hourly. They took their own temperatures every two hours. Then finally, after seven days symptom free, they got the call.

“We were cleared Monday as of 7. I went to work at 8,” Deko said.

Deko said it was near-impossible not to “listen to the scanner constantly,” and he could not wait to get back to work.

It's hard to fight something you can't see

“It’s scary, but we know when we raise our right hand and take the oath, we know the risks,” Deko said. But those are risks you can see, ones you can fight.

“Something you can’t see. Something you can't smell. We can stop the bleeding. We can fight the fire, but it’s hard to fight what you cannot see,” he said. “That’s the scariest part. But we’ll keep on doing our jobs.

Deko said what he hopes is that people, especially young people, will "take this seriously.”

“This thing sidelined two firemen and four police officers for a week. It makes you a little nervous. That’s why we are pushing social distancing so hard. This is our job - to save lives. But we can’t do that if I’m sitting home under quarantine. It’s that simple. Stay home. Wash your hands.”

Guilford Fire Department, not unlike other shoreline departments, are taking “every precaution” and using personal protective gear including masks, gloves, gowns and shields for eyes.

“We are protecting ourselves from them and protecting them from us,” Deko said of the full gear. “We’re doing our job — to mitigate emergencies and to help people in this scary time and so we need people to do their part.”

Deko was upbeat, though.

“We’ll get through this. We were taking a run-of-the-mill, routine call and we've learned from it and have changed the way we operate now.”

Deko, who just finished his 10th year as a career firefighter, is the East Haven Town Council chairman. He said in his capacity as a local official, his message to citizens is to “follow the directions of the town and the state, maintain social distance of six feet, habitually wash hands, avoid unnecessary travel and limit exposure at the grocery store."

“It’s a crucial time. This is not the common cold. It’s causing a lot of deaths. The younger population could recover, but if they're not (social distancing), when they go home, they bring the virus with them to their parents, who could take it to their grandparents and next thing, grandma is in the hospital on life support. It’s tough, but we all have to do our jobs to keep each other safe."

And about the man who tested positive for COVID-19?

“The last we heard he was stable. I hope he’ll be OK. They are lovely people and I’m sorry it had to happen to him.”