Lexington Fire Dept. Drills For Ebola
In Monday morning’s exercise at firehouse 20, firefighters and paramedics from all over Lexington suited up to for the “What If?” moment.
"We have to be prepared for anything," Battalion Chief Joe Best said.
The training was lifelike. From full protective gear to an acting victim, the drill was setup to test crews and make sure they were safe.
During the exercise, the victim pretended she was an aid worked who just returned from Africa and started feeling flu-like symptoms.
After getting a simulated 911 call, crews donned their personal protection equipment, or for short, PPE’s, and headed in to evaluate the victim.
As more crews arrived, including Lexington’s hazmat team and a special ambulance.
The ambulance looked like a normal Lexington ambulance from the outside, but on the inside, it’s a different story. All of the surfaces are draped with plastic, specifically designed to cut down on the spread of infection diseases.
"We’ve got our response ready,” Best said.
Even though the Center for Disease Control said Kentucky’s risk for Ebola is low, they did say that it is possible and the fire department said its “better to be safe than sorry.”
"When folks call 911, they expect us to have an appropriate response,” Best said. “We’ve learned on cases around the county . . . we want to make sure we have our ducks in a row should that call ever come."
"Training helps mitigate a lot of the risk,” said Captain Rob Larkin said. “Good equipment, training and technique and that’s what we do to overcome any of these hazardous situations."
The fire department tells ABC 36 News they are going to continue training for what to do in an Ebola incident and will also stay in constant contact with the CDC.
Lexington Fire officials said they hope to never have to use this specialized equipment, but if they do, they said they’re ready.
Leave a Reply