‘More cautious:’ Lexington firefighters, police take steps to guard against COVID-19
From bunking apart to canceling hiring processes, Lexington emergency response teams have taken extra steps to protect themselves and others as the number of coronavirus cases continues to grow.
In addition to closing its stations to the public, the Lexington Fire Department has adopted other precautions, including more handwashing, symptom monitoring, rigorous disinfecting and less mingling, according to Battalion Chief Jordan Saas.
The department tries to maintain social distancing, Saas said. On-duty firefighters sleep in bunks overnight, and while the bunks are well-spaced, the personnel may move bunks to other rooms or sleep on couches instead of sleeping together in a single room, Saas said.
“The Lexington Fire Department is still very much open . . . and we’re still responding to emergency calls,” Saas said. “We will even treat emergency walk-ins. We would prefer that the treatment be done outside, but we will treat them.”
The department would like people to meet them outside at the scene, if possible, Saas said. The department has also tried to reduce the number of people it sends inside a building on calls. As a result, responders determine whether or not they need additional assistance inside when they arrive at a scene. Others called to the scene for help will wait outside, Saas said.
As a whole, the department is maintaining most of its protocols.
Last week, Saas said the department was using additional safety equipment, such as masks and gowns, when responding to some calls. The typical protection equipment included gloves and goggles.
“It’s not like we’re not responding, we’re just being more cautious,” Saas said.
The Lexington Police Department has encouraged Lexington residents to file crime reports online if possible, and the department may follow up with people over the phone rather than in person, according to spokeswoman Brenna Angel.
The department said in an email it accepts online police reports for the following:
- Crimes that didn’t involve a gun
- Harassing communication
- Credit card fraud
- Theft of property worth less than $500
- Criminal mischief with under $1,000 in damage
- Lost property under $500 in value
- Car break-ins
In addition, the department has suspended ride-alongs. A Thursday hiring preparation class has been canceled. The class was free and optional for potential police applicants to learn about the hiring process, written exam, physical test and oral board interview. A written exam for police applicants, which was scheduled for next week, was also canceled.
Crime has decreased only slightly in the last week – compared to the same time span in February. From Feb. 10 to 17, there were 4,875 incidents or calls for service. For the past week (March 9 to 16), there were 4,628 incidents.
This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 11:07 AM.