As police officers, firefighters and paramedics place themselves front and centre, they are becoming increasingly at risk themselves
Earlier this month, Rachel Black, housebound in London, Ont., gathered 25 of her and her spouse’s friends to jump on a Zoom call to wish her husband in Toronto a “Happy Birthday.”
It was a sign-of-the-times quick pivot plan from the in-person surprise party she had initially organized, and a very different birthday for the couple, who normally celebrate in style with international trips and special plans.
Jet Black is a Toronto firefighter and his wife has respiratory issues, which means they’ve had to be apart since the deadly COVID-19 virus hit the city.
The 36-year-old has moved in with her parents in London, Ont., out of fear that her first-responder partner could become a carrier of COVID-19.
“I’m worried about Jet as he doesn’t have the option to choose how many people he interacts with each day,” said the events manager. “I worry that the people on the other side of the calls he’s responding to haven’t properly self-isolated or are carriers of the virus.”
She fears that if something happened to him, she won’t be there to take care of her partner while he’s sick.
“The thing that haunts me most is that we don’t know who will succumb to the virus,” said Black, adding that her husband is also very scared about how the virus might impact her if she’s exposed to it.
“He has gone to great lengths to ensure that my parents and I have absolutely no contact with anyone outside of our house. Our groceries are being delivered and we haven’t been inside any stores nor have we had any contact with outsiders since this all started,” she said.
The Black family is just one of many across this city and province with heightened levels of fear and stress as one or more of its family members bear the weight of being front and centre in the fight against the deadly virus as the cases of COVID-19 grow and spread rapidly.
Tasked to transport people potentially infected with the deadly virus to hospitals that are overwhelmed with tending to the fatally sick, police officers, firefighters and paramedics are becoming increasingly at risk themselves.
“Paramedics and their loved ones are feeling strained by this all,” said Darryl Wilton, who has been a paramedic for 24 years and is the president of the Ontario Paramedic Association.
Wilton said that with an 80 per cent increase in calls over the past few weeks, paramedic shifts are being extended from 12 hours to 18 hours. He added that some who live in one province and work in another are being stopped at interprovincial borders and screened daily, which turns their 12- to 16-hour shifts into 14- to 28-hour shifts.
With segments of paramedic staff in isolation for COVID-19 exposure, there are overtime demands on days off to backfill other staff, which is further impacted by the stressors of hospital capacity issues and a lack of healthy food options, with some stores being on reduced hours and closed completely, especially on night shifts, said the OPA.
And, along with the emotional impact of families making sacrifices as many paramedics are having to isolate from loved ones, they are also being advised by medical directors to have their wills and estates in order, said Wilton.
A day in the life
Since the virus hit the province, first responders have had to meet new safety protocols and amend their daily schedules, which adds to their long, stressful days.
Now, when paramedics arrive at work, they go through checkpoints to be screened for symptoms. Then they are briefed on changes at hospitals, testing sites, new protocols and new provincial directives as the information changes by the hour, said Katherine Hambleton, the provincial chair for the OPA’s Ontario Paramedic Wellness Committee.
Rachel Black noted that officials are taking many new precautions at her husband’s firehall, which are also updated on an hourly basis. She said that firefighters are now only allowed to have one person in a room at a time, they eat meals separately, and they no longer have any interaction with other shifts to comply with social distancing rules.
“Firefighters are also provided with a variety of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), depending on the call,” said Jasmine Patrick, a communications advisor with the City of Toronto.
“Via 9-1-1, a series of screening questions will identify the potential for COVID-19 exposure, and medical protocols have been adjusted to minimize exposure of crews.”
For most first responders, of greatest concern is, in fact, the lack of PPE as front-line workers across the province, and the world, scramble for supplies.
“One of the biggest stressors is the availability of PPE,” said Wilton. “If governments do not come through for us, the healthcare system will begin to collapse.”
“Not having PPE is like sending a tactical officer into a gun battle without body armor or a firefighter into a fire without bunker gear and SCBA,” he added.
And, if first responders are able to get their hands on the much-needed equipment, those calls are also taking much longer since donning (applying) PPE is a very meticulous procedure, said Hambleton.
“Working with PPE is more arduous as we work in unstable environments,” said Hambleton. “Doffing (removing) PPE is a high-alert, high-caution procedure so that any pathogens on the outside of the PPE do not get passed around so the PPE is carefully removed and sealed into biohazardous waste bags.”
While they’re out on their shifts, Wilton said paramedics are also growing increasingly stressed by members of the public who are not forthcoming about their symptoms and the fact that they are still not socially distancing or staying home as they have been directed.
“Paramedics have seen COVID positive patients out in the community not realizing that for some people, this is an infection, and for others it is a death sentence,” said Wilton.
As of April 7, five Toronto city employees, four police officers and a civilian officer, had confirmed cases of COVID-19. Four uniformed police within the Ontario Provincial Police have the virus. One each in Hamilton, Peel Region, Halton Region and the Six Nations Police. And in Ottawa, two police officers have been diagnosed — a coach officer and a recruit.
Others await testing while several hundred more across Ontario are in isolation, due to recent travel or possible exposure to the virus as they head out into communities.
In New York, the epicentre of the virus in the US, nearly 1,200 NYPD employees have tested positive for the virus, 5,600 officers are off sick or in self-isolation, and five police employees have died, according to reports.
Bruce Chapman, president of the Police Association of Ontario, told the Toronto Star last week that the OPA’s members are worried about that becoming their reality in Ontario, admitting that some police staff are scared.
And now officers will also be out in the public, tasked to comb the city to enforce new city bylaws to enforce social distancing rules, further putting themselves at risk.
Staffing is stretched, as well, McCormack said, with approximately 400 officers currently in self-isolation, many due to March break travel.
