BELLEVUE, Neb. (KMTV) -- — A local fire department and paramedic unit is making changes to how they respond to calls for public safety.
Bellevue Fire and Rescue says they’ve changed their policy, so now only one crew member will initially enter a home when called to an address.
The first responder will have Personal Protective Equipment from head to toe; gown, gloves, mask and protective eyewear.
They will be able to assess the situation on if it’s safe for anyone else to enter because of the Coronavirus threat.
Crews say their process will be slowed down some but it’s for the safety of everyone.
“It’s not adding great deals of time because obviously if it’s a severe enough emergency we’re going to do what it takes to take care of the patient, but if it’s something urgent but not life threatening we’re going to take those extra minutes for the patient’s sake and for the provider’s sake,” said Anthony Rogers, C-Shift EMS Captain for the Bellevue Fire Dept.
911 dispatchers will also be asking callers different questions to assess the Coronavirus threat.
Bellevue Fire and Rescue now has these decontamination cabinets that in about 10 minutes they use UV lights where they can sanitize these P100 air filter masks so they don’t have to buy as many and they can reuse them out in the field as well.
