Caldwell County Emergency Management distributed personal protective equipment to the 16 fire/rescue agencies that serve the county. Departments received a supply of N-95 masks, gowns, procedural masks, face shields, safety glasses, and gloves. This PPE equips departments to expand the number of medical calls they currently run.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, fire departments only responded to immediate, life-threatening calls of the highest priority in an effort to both protect the first responder and limit the amount of PPE used. The PPE distributed today will allow these first responders to expand the number of calls to the next response level. While this effort does not return fire departments to running all medical calls, as they did prior to the pandemic, it does significantly expand their call volume.
For information about Coronavirus, visit www.caldwellcountync.org/coronavirus-covid-19 or call the Emergency Operations Center at 828-426-8605. For statistical information, visit www.caldwellcountync.org/coronavirus-covid-19/dashboard.
