2020 Fire Department Annual Report

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2020 Annual Report • Fire Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 32 | Page VII. Emergency Management This past year put the practice of emergency planning to the test. The COVID-19 pandemic really brought the principals of emergency management to the forefront from a planning and preparation perspective. It required us to refer to our Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and specifically focus on our Pandemic Plan (PP) for the city. Meetings were had multiple times where we referred to our plan which aided in the determination of supplies needed and operational direction for all departments. Each department was given directives to design guidelines which will work specifically for their employees. The goal was to safely continue to provide services to the residents while reducing the risk, exposure, and possible spread of the Covid-19 virus. SOG’s were developed on the Fire and Police side of things. Assistant Chief Chris Fuller put together guidelines for both Fire and Police which provided clear steps on patient assessments, equipment disposal and decontamination. City hall, public works and the liquor stores all developed their own guidelines on how to continue service for the residents but with a modified delivery. The following of CDC guidelines and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) were major considerations when these guidelines were developed. A lot of creative thinking came out of these meetings but also much of it came from the employees themselves. One of the biggest designs came from Captain Joe Basara and Lt. Alex Van Galder on designing a portable spray system to disinfect our vehicles, equipment and the fire station itself. We utilized an SCBA bottle which contains high pressure air. We then purchased a paint sprayer that was filled with disinfectant and sprayed in a fine mist throughout the areas and on equipment. We used hypochlorous acid (HOCL) which is not corrosive however effective on the virus. Crews designed a few different ideas and we replaced our SCBA with a powered paint sprayer to be used at the liquor stores. They would spray down carts, countertops, doors and handles to make sure that customers were not being exposed to the virus.