Sixth Cambridge firefighter tests positive for COVID-19, outbreak has affected two stations

Therecord.com
Dec. 11

The Cambridge Fire Department is in the middle of a COVID-19 outbreak that is now linked to six firefighters.

The sixth case was reported by Region of Waterloo Public Health on Friday.

Cambridge Fire Chief Brian Arnold said the outbreak affected firefighters who work at two of the fire department’s six stations, and a large number of staff who were identified as potential contacts were informed to isolate and get tested.

It means the fire department had to call in off-duty firefighters to fill in the gaps and ensure service levels are maintained to respond to fires and other emergencies in the city.

“We have incurred significant overtime to maintain the minimal staffing levels,” Arnold said Friday in an interview.

“I really need to commend the firefighters for being available at short notice.”

Cambridge isn’t alone in racking up overtime to ensure fire services are at adequate levels.

Waterloo Fire Rescue Chief Richard Hepditch said the department is running into more overtime than usual.

“Sick time is certainly a factor with people reporting they are ill, and that does cause us to experience overtime which is really not unlike any other workplace,” Hepditch said.

“We have a duty to respond and maintain our core services.”

Only one Waterloo firefighter has tested positive for COVID-19 so far, and that was in late March.

In Cambridge, the COVID-19 outbreak was declared on Dec. 1 when the city reported two firefighters had tested positive for COVID-19. That number jumped to three on Dec. 4 and five positive cases by Monday. The sixth case was reported on Friday.

Arnold said three of the firefighters who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered and the other three are doing well.

As for how the outbreak happened and spread to six firefighters across two stations, Arnold said he does not know. But he did say the department has strict public health protocols in place at each of its fire stations.

These protocols include hand hygiene, physical distancing inside fire stations along with proper use of personal protective equipment. High-touch surfaces inside fire stations are also cleaned twice daily.

The supervisor on duty is responsible for ensuring these protocols are met, Arnold said.

“If they’re done correctly, it does make a difference.”

While Region of Waterloo Public Health was responsible for contact tracing high-risk contacts of the confirmed cases in this outbreak, the fire department conducted contact tracing for “indirect” or secondary contacts, Arnold said.

Arnold said individual firefighters are assigned to specific stations, but with pandemic protocols and the outbreak, firefighters were brought in from all stations.

The Cambridge Fire Department has six stations. On any given shift, the minimum required staffing level in the city is 27 firefighters: seven at headquarters and four firefighters at each of the other stations.

Service levels have not changed, but firefighters at all three fire departments are required to fill out a screening questionnaire before reporting to work. If they exhibit symptoms, they are asked to isolate and report to a supervisor. This process is the same for all city employees across the municipalities.

Waterloo Fire Rescue operates four fire stations with a staff of 124 including administration, fire prevention officers, and firefighters. It maintains 21 firefighters on duty at any given time.

There is a minimum requirement to staff fire trucks with four firefighters, and they are equipped with personal protective equipment as they cannot physically distance inside the truck.

Hepditch also serves as the regional co-ordinator of fire services under the Region of Waterloo’s pandemic response plan. He said the region’s seven fire departments meet bi-weekly to check in with each other and assess service levels.

“The system is set up that we can call for help if needed,” Hepditch said.

The provincial and regional mutual aid agreement between fire departments allows firefighters to serve other communities if needed, Hepditch explained.

“Mutual aid is based upon whether a fire department has exhausted its resources,” he explained. One such example is a large fire, like the one at Dollarama in Waterloo five years ago.

Firefighters from Kitchener and Cambridge rushed to assist as flames took over the entire store. During the pandemic, this mutual aid agreement could apply to a severe reduction in staffing.

“That may be out reality if our staffing is reduced,” Hepditch said. “We’re in a preparedness state.”

In the region’s largest city, the Kitchener Fire Department’s use of overtime hours has not been greatly impacted by the pandemic. The department has not experienced any cases of COVID-19 either.

“Our service delivery remains the same,” said Jeff Wildfang, public education officer for the Kitchener Fire Department.

Kitchener has a staff of 183 firefighters across seven stations, with a minimum staffing requirement of 46 firefighters per shift. Wildfang said some stations have two trucks, while others have three.

“We’re following all the public health guidelines,” Wildfang said. This includes physical distancing when possible, wearing personal protective equipment inside stations, on trucks and when responding to calls for service.

While the role of firefighters has not changed much during the pandemic, Wildfang’s job as a public education officer has changed drastically. He spends more time creating virtual fire safety messages instead of educating students at Children’s Safety Village in Cambridge.

“The messaging is always the same, just the delivery method is different.”

When the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development was asked about the outbreak on Dec. 11, a spokesperson said the ministry was not notified and will investigate. The ministry conducted a field visit of the workplace on Dec. 7 and said no orders were issued.