Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Local firefighters recover from COVID-19, now back at work

All North County Fire Protection District firefighters who previously tested positive for the coronavirus are now healthy and have returned to work, the fire district said.

The fire district announced the firefighters were back on duty in a Facebook post Wednesday, May 6.

The firefighters who have recovered from coronavirus are now trying to give back to the community by donating their plasma, and the antibodies that come with it.

"The silver lining in our firefighters getting COVID-19 is that they are now helping those infected by the virus in ways only those that have antibodies can," the fire district said in the Facebook post. "Our fully recovered firefighters are now donating their plasma to help those who are infected and receiving treatment in our local ICUs."

North County Fire was one of the earliest local fire agencies to report an employee with a coronavirus case. The agency's first case was announced Saturday, March 14. The district had six North County firefighters ultimately tested positive for the virus.

All of the ill firefighters had mild-to-moderate symptoms, fire Capt. John Choi said.

"None of them required any type of medication, specialized medication; they all went through their course at home, self-quarantining," Choi said.

Firefighters are trying to exercise caution moving forward by wearing protective gear while working with anyone in the community who is believed to be infected, as well as changing into physical training attire while working in their respective fire stations to avoid any potential cross-contamination between the community and the fire department.

"We're keeping (the protective gear) all in the out bay so we're not transmitting anything that may be living amongst the station and transmitting it to the community, or vice versa," Choi said.

North County Fire is also performing temperature checks on all firefighters at the beginning, during and at the end of each shift.

Choi emphasized that members of the community can still count on North County firefighters to keep them safe and respond to any and all emergencies.

"I think one of the big fears right now is that people are not calling us because they are scared of getting (COVID-19), but if they are having medical emergencies, heart attacks, strokes ... please call us," Choi said. "We are here for you."

Will Fritz can be reached by email at [email protected].

 

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