Howley fire department not doing medical calls due to lack of protective gear

Firefighters in a small west coast town in Newfoundland are not taking any chances with COVID-19, voting to stop taking medical calls because they do not have the proper protective equipment to guard against the virus.

Mayor and firefighter Wayne Bennett said it is not a decision the 20-person fire department wanted to make, but they felt they had no other choice.

When asked how the decision made him feel, Bennett did not mince words.

"Can I use the word shitty?" he said. "It's life and death."

The mayor said the firefighters need masks, gowns and face shields, but can't find a supply.

He went earlier this week to the Corner Brook Regional Fire Department's supplier,where he said he gotthe last 10 N95-rated masks on the west coast of the island.

The supplier was out of gowns and face shields.

The nearest paramedics are in Deer Lake, about a 30-minute drive away. The Howley volunteer fire team are the first to arrive to medical calls within their community, and administer first aid until an ambulance arrives.

Bennett said the entire situation leaves him worried about the possibility of denying a person help and having them die.

"I'm retired military so I'm used to seeing that," he said."I don't think the people in my fire department have ever been exposed to that. I think it would be very difficult to watch somebody die knowing that you've got life-saving equipment 20 feet away."

I shudder at the thought that somebody in the town dies because of that.- Mayor Wayne Bennett on people breaking quarantine recommendations

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Premier Dwight Ball who is from Deer Lake said the situation will be taken care of.

"I'm aware of this and we are working very closely with this group to get the proper and updated equipment in place so that they are in a position to respond to the emergencies in that small community."

Health Minister John Haggie said the province has its usual stockpile of medical equipment, but is currently leaning on the national emergency response centre for additional shipments.

People should have stayed home, says mayor

If anythingdoes happen, Bennett said the blame shouldn't land on the firefighters, but on the people who broke quarantine.

He said the decision only came about after they were made aware of people in the community who ignored recommendations to isolate themselves after coming back from vacations abroad.

In Howley, a community of about 200 people, the mayor said their disregard put everyone at risk.

"I wouldn't even want to go near them. I shudder at the thought that somebody in the town dies because of that."

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