Firefighters to sanitise equipment after every operation during pandemic: New SOP

Senior officers said because firemen need to carry evacuees on their backs or shoulders, with no scope of social distancing, they will have to disinfect shoes, hazmat suit, helmet, equipment as well as themselves, before resuming work, in order to contain the spread of the virus within the force.

Every firefighter’s equipment and fire tenders used in rescue operations during the Covid-19 pandemic will be thoroughly disinfected before being reused, state the Delhi Fire Service’s (DFS) newly framed standard operating procedures (SOP).

Every year, Delhi reports more than 3,000 incidents of fire on an average, a majority of them in May, June and July. (REUTERS)

Senior officers said because firemen need to carry evacuees on their backs or shoulders, with no scope of social distancing, they will have to disinfect shoes, hazmat suit, helmet, equipment as well as themselves, before resuming work, in order to contain the spread of the virus within the force.

For this purpose, the DFS has purchased a manual disinfecting machine, one each for all 63 fire stations in Delhi.

The DFS has so far not reported any Covid-19 case.

The new SOPs were formalised in the first week of May, keeping in mind the onset of summer. Every year, Delhi reports more than 3,000 incidents of fire on an average, a majority of them in May, June and July.

Atul Garg, director, DFS, said, “We are expecting fire incidents to go up in summer, like every year, but this time it’s going to be different. Because of the pandemic, our functioning has been affected. In the past, there have been rescue operations where we have had to lift 30 to 50 people from one building or area. In such cases, we cannot waste time worrying about getting close to unknown people who may be infected with Covid-19. Therefore, we framed the new SOP in a meeting.”

According to the new plan, every firefighter who exits his fire station will undergo a thorough disinfecting procedure upon return. “His clothes, fire suit, helmets, goggles, equipment, boots and gloves will be sanitised. Even the fire tender used to douse a fire in densely populated areas will be cleaned upon return,” Garg said.

Garg said the force is short-staffed. He said though no case has been reported in the force, they are taking all precautions.

The firefighters, because they travel together, will wear masks under the helmets. which are a mandatory part of their uniform. The helmets also have a protective visor that will act as a second layer of protection.

The director said that to ensure that such additional measures do not waste crucial time, the exercise to sanitise the firemen and fire tenders will be conducted only once a firefighting operation is over.