UNDATED, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Due to the ongoing COVID-19 spread, changes are being made to how emergency responders are handling calls.
Michigan State Firemen’s Association President Michael McLeieer was recently interviewed by WKZO to discuss what these changes look like.
“One of the things, when people are calling 911, there’s a few extra questions many of our emergency dispatchers are now asking, especially if the caller is seeking medical aid,” McLeieer said. “We’re asking questions such as, ‘does the person have a dry cough, do they have a fever, is there any type of shortness of breath,’ and that’s gonna help our emergency responders be better prepared, especially with the the limited personal protective equipment (PPE).”
McLeieer says that these new questions are necessary to help stop the virus from reaching emergency personnel.
“Don’t be surprised if there’s some additional questions,” McLeieer said. “It’s so we can make sure we get the right information and our responders are best prepared to mitigate the situation.”
When responding to an emergency, workers will likely appear in person with more PPE.
“They may look a little bit different, but they’re still there to help everyone,” McLeieer said. “We want to make sure parents are talking with young children; even though our first responders may look a little different, and sometimes they may look a little scary to our younger friends, we’re there to help everyone just like if we’re there showing up for a fire. We want to make sure everyone stays safe including our responders, their families and everyone they come in contact with.”
Since first responders are stretched in some areas, McLeieer says making sure that responders do not become infected is crucial to slowing the spread.
“We’re making sure we’re using precautionary measures, so if they become infected we take them out of the front line and they have to go into the ‘stay-at-home’ period,” McLeieer said. “It’s the best practice that not only are we following in West Michigan, but first responders across the country are also following this.”
Most importantly, McLeieer is now reminding citizens to be as accurate as possible when requesting emergency services.
“We want people to be as truthful as possible, be accurate, be honest so that our emergency responders can take the best care of you, your family and your community,” McLeieer said. “If we have all of the information that our emergency dispatchers are taking and then they’re relaying that information to the responding crews, we’re gonna have what we need to help mitigate that particular emergency.”
The latest information about COVID-19 can be found online at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV and https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/.
More information about emergency responders can be found online at http://escapeinc.org/blog/.
