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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dewey Fire got creative, and with inspiration and assistance from the Bartlesville Fire Department, they created a disinfectant sprayer.

Cody Meade, the Assistant Fire Chief for Dewey Fire, said Captain Mike Bolinger led the way in getting that unit built for their station. He said Barry Campbell with the BFD sent Bolinger the plans to help them construct the item.

Bolinger took an SCBA pack like firefighters wear into a fire to breath. He took that device and bought an auto body paint sprayer, which he piped into the SCBA sprayer. That enables the Dewey Fire Department to use the air from the SCBA pack to spray disinfectant after a response to a COVID-19 call.

Whether they are responding to a coronavirus call or not, Meade said it is business as usual. However, Meade said they have protocols in place at the station when firefighters return from a COVID-19 call they respond to with Bartlesville EMS. He said the solution they use with their disinfectant sprayer provides a safeguard to their responders and to the equipment they use.

After a COVID-19 call, Dewey Fire is right back to the station. Meade said they will park the firetruck that was used outside and they will open all the doors. He said they then spray the whole rig with the sprayer (pictured).

Being in the sun does help with disinfection. Meade said that is why they disinfect everything outside when they can. He said they spray down the individual when they return from the call while they're still in their personal protective equipment (PPE). Once the PPE has been disinfected, they throw it away.

Meade said they would also decontaminate the responder as well before they enter the fire station. He said the hope is to prevent the spread of the virus in the station, in their vehicles, to other responders, and to their families.

Some of the COVID-19 calls that Dewey Fire receives note that people who are calling in have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the past and that they are at home quarantining. Meade said other calls come in and they are told that the person(s) they are responding have symptoms of the virus. He said there is a way to communicate what is happening with the virus locally, and he said that Bartlesville EMS is very professional in all that they do, including communication.

Dispatch at the Washington County Sheriff's Office has effectively helped with this communication as well. Meade said they will let them know when they are in route that they are responding to a possible coronavirus case. He said there is a code that they use that safeguards a possible coronavirus patient so their privacy is protected.

Not all calls are COVID-19 calls though. Still, protocols are in place to keep everyone safe. Meade said he believes they have been in eight to ten situations where their coronavirus protocol has been needed in full force since the pandemic started in mid-March.

Responding to coronavirus calls can be a little daunting. Meade said if they respond to a heart attack call, they will work it and they won't carry that with them. But with COVID-19, you don't know if you are taking it back with you or if you are not. He said it is for that reason that they have the high levels of decontamination when they return to the station to act as a safeguard, just in case.

Not every responder with Dewey Fire is sent out to a coronavirus call. Meade said not every firefighter has the clearance to respond to those calls. He said they utilize guys with higher medical training and experience, because they do not want to expose their entire company to the virus.

If an exposure were to occur, it could wipe out their entire fire agency until they get the virus weeded out. Meade said they have other calls they have to be available for, and they can't all be quarantined.

Dewey Fire thanks the Bartlesville Fire Department for the idea and for the plans. Meade said the BFD reached out, they helped, and they provided some of the solution Dewey Fire needed to make the disinfectant sprayer work. He said it was admirable to see the BFD, Bartlesville Fire Chief John Banks, and Bill Hollander reach out to make sure that the citizens of Dewey, and rural Washington County, were taken care of as well.