A DISASTER LIKE NO OTHER
Firefighters confront impacts of COVID-19 pandemic
The 9-1-1 call that came into to Santa Clara county dispatch on February 6, 2020 was both heartbreaking and mystifying.
A healthy 57-year-old woman had suffered a sudden heart attack, the result of a ruptured heart valve. The patient had no history of heart trouble and the only health issue of note were some slight flu-like symptoms she’d been experiencing. As it turned out, the patient’s heart, lungs and much of her body contained a novel coronavirus, COVID-19. She is now identified as the first American COVID-19 death.
“San Jose Fire and local ambulance ran on that call,” said Sean Kaldor, then-president of San Jose Firefighters Local 230. “Nobody knows how many other patients were COVID-positive back in January and February.”
At its peak, Local 230 saw 90 members — nearly a quarter of its membership — forced into quarantine. Sixteen firefighters tested positive. “What was really happening was that the virus was starting to spread and spread aggressively here in Santa Clara County, and we didn’t realize it at all,” said Kaldor.
It was only the beginning. Over the course of half a year, the COVID-19 pandemic had consumed the nation’s consciousness, filling hospital beds, crippling the economy and dramatically altering daily lives. Most tragically, COVID-19 kills people — an average of 900 Americans every day.
FIREFIGHTERS AT HIGH RISK
The burden of responding to the pandemic has fallen most heavily on frontline healthcare workers and emergency responders. Firefighters are both. Even with new PPE and enhanced safety protocols, firefighters remained at high risk of exposure.
In Los Angeles, the pandemic became painfully real for the family of UFLAC Local 112 member Jose Perez, a 44-year-old firefighter/paramedic who lost his life to COVID-19. In Anaheim, two strong and healthy fire captains — David Baker and Joseph Aldecoa — each spent nearly a month hospitalized after contracting COVID-19. Baker, who had become a minor celebrity within the fire service when he posed for a famous portrait with Mickey Mouse — spent 11 days on a ventilator.
“The doctors said they weren't sure he would be able to pull through it.” Baker’s wife Stacey — herself a COVID-19 survivor — said in an interview on the CPF Fire Wire podcast. “I thought … that he would never come home again.”
Even those who suffer milder cases could find the effects lingering well beyond when they “recover.” Aldecoa, the Anaheim fire captain, was told he could be off work for many months. In August, reports began surfacing of individuals being re-infected, suggesting that any immunity conferred by the virus may be short-lived.
“The bottom line is that we just don’t know what the long-term effects of this disease will be,” said CPF President Brian K. Rice. “Even if you don’t show symptoms, you could wind up being affected down the road.”
A DISASTER WITHIN A DISASTER
As spring gave way to summer, the exposure risk for firefighters was turned up to 11 with the arrival of yet another catastrophic wildfire outbreak. A withering heat wave and more than 11,000 lightning strikes sparked hundreds of wildfires that within two weeks consumed more than 1.3 million acres (see story here).
More than 15,000 firefighters were called to action, from throughout California and from surrounding states. This mass mobilization required a rapid re-imagining of how firefighters are deployed and quartered to prevent transmission of the virus. In the early stages, personnel were re-directed away from mass fire camps into hotel rooms. In some cases, hotels forced into closure because of COVID-19 were reopened specifically to house firefighters and evacuees. PPE and physical distancing efforts were encouraged.
Even with these precautions, firefighters stretched thin on the lines face unknown but possibly serious long-term consequences from the blazes … consequences that could be compounded with exposure to the deadly virus.
“It’s a manifestly unsafe situation both as it relates to fire and as it relates to COVID,” Oakland Firefighters Local 55 President Zac Unger told NBC News.
THE HIDDEN TOLL
The physical and professional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are there for all to see. But there are other, less visible effects. While firefighter families are accustomed to the ongoing possibility of losing a loved one, COVID-19 is a disaster that affects every member of the family. The partners of both Baker and Aldecoa contracted COVID-19 and became ill. In the case of the Bakers, their two children living at home also caught the virus.
“This time, the call is not ending,” said Nancy Alvarez, a registered nurse working for L.A. County Fire whose husband and son are Long Beach police officers. “This time the worry is, ‘am I bringing this home to my family?’ and the family wondering ‘is this coming home to me?’”
Accompanying this basic stress factor are those afflicting many other families in the throes of the pandemic — kids under foot, remote education responsibilities, cabin fever, and just plain fear of the virus.
“My kids are scared to hug me on days when I treat COVID patients,” Unger said. “It breaks your heart when you can’t give your little kid a hug.”
WORKING FOR YOU
As the potential scope of the COVID-19 pandemic began to be revealed, California Professional Firefighters moved immediately to ensure that the state’s firefighters had the timely and relevant information they needed to meet their challenge.
On the web. Even before the statewide shutdown, CPF launched a dedicated web page — cpf.org/COVID19 — to keep members current, including updated local EMSA protocols, member safety and behavioral health information and resources for local unions. Through the Behavioral Health Task Force, CPF also initiated a similar resource page at healingourown.org/covid19
Member-to-member. CPF President Brian Rice conducted a series of online town hall meetings, covering everything from the direct health impacts on firefighters to behavioral health effects to the impact on CalPERS and retirement. (You can watch these town hall meetings at cpf.org/covid19). Hundreds of CPF members participated in these events.
CPF Fire Wire. CPF’s popular podcast turned the spotlight on COVID-19, both with timely informational updates and emotional personal stories, including those of David Baker and Joe Aldecoa.
More importantly, CPF turned its attention to the halls of power to ensure that the practical on-the-job needs of firefighters were met.
Exposure information. Current state law requires that hospitals notify responding EMTs and paramedics when they are exposed to an infectious disease. But in many cases, this was not happening with COVID-19. CPF collected stories of the shortfall and brought them to the attention of state EMS officials, demanding follow-up.
Keeping firefighters looped in. CPF was a part of every relevant statewide entity established to address the pandemic and its impact on fire and emergency response, including those organized by Cal-OES and other entities.
Direct communication with the governor and leadership. CPF President Brian Rice maintained regular contact with Gov. Gavin Newsom, the state’s EMS director and the head of Cal-OES, pressing for wildfire response plans. Through these contacts, CPF helped secure an executive order establishing a presumption for COVID-19 exposure during the heart of the crisis.
Legislative advocacy. Through its unmatched governmental advocacy team, CPF has worked relentlessly to secure recognition of the risks firefighters face, including a long-term workers’ comp presumption for firefighters who contract COVID-19, that is awaiting the Governor's signature.
“We take this pandemic seriously, and the experiences in San Jose and Anaheim demonstrate that our members should take it seriously too,” said Rice. “CPF will continue to be in there fighting to make sure your firefighters have the protection and support they need to be there for our fellow Californians.”