Bugs and Bacteria
At the 2008 Station Style Conference in Phoenix, a deputy chief and a researcher presented on contamination in the interior of fire station. I overheard one chief say that he didn’t come to a station-design conference “to hear about bugs and bacteria.”
Most may not have come to hear about such bugs, but most attendees were shocked to learn how long MRSA and other bacteria can live on unexpected surfaces — particularly on the chairs and couches. One chief subsequently decided against carpeting the living area as a precaution.
MRSA may have provoked the discussion, but H1N1, bloodborne pathogens and other contaminants have highlighted the need for changes in turnout-laundering and equipment-cleaning procedures.
On a recent visit to Alexandria (Va.) Fire Department’s new Station at Potomac Yard, I saw a room off from the apparatus bays specifically for cleaning turnout gear. I also found a set of standard washers and dryers that, according to Bttn. Chief John North, are to be used to launder all stationwear. Firefighters no longer area allowed to take their stationwear home to wash.
At a recent apparatus symposium, Chief Mark Ober, Anderson Township (Ohio) Fire and Rescue Department, said his department is looking at new methods of decontaminating apparatus. He described a third-party, free-standing garage-type facility into which vehicles can pulled for decontamination.
And it’s more than dirty gear that you need to worry about. Ober said that a neighboring town no longer allows medic bags to be placed on the floors of patients’ homes because medics were bringing bedbugs back to the station.
Most departments already have standard operating procedures for decontaminating gear, equipment and apparatus. But do you have policies that cover cleaning your station’s day room, kitchen and eating areas, as well as bedding and showers? If not, now is the time to create them.
The 2010 Station Style Conference again will offer a program on infection control and durable surfaces. Danger lurks not only on calls, but back in the shelter of the station as well.
