By Sam Wroblewski 630WPRO.com News
The Providence Firefighters Union President tells WPRO News the Capital City’s first-responders are ready in case there is an Ebola outbreak in Rhode Island.
Local 799 President Paul Doughty told the WPRO Morning News with Gene Valicenti that his department is going above the standards recommended by the Center for Disease Control.
“We’re using a higher level of suits for personal protective equipment for our people and we also have some processes where we actually cover the inside of the rescue with plastic to make it easier to decontaminate,” said Doughty
Doughty said the department will do its best to ambulances clean and decontaminated in order to prevent the spread of the virus in rescue vehicles.
“We’re taking our hazmat protocols and applying them to the EMS setting,” said Doughty.
The news of stepped up procedures comes days after two Texas nurses contracted Ebola after treating the index patient in Dallas; the patient later died.
Doughty said the Providence EMS responds to one in every five emergency calls in the state.
