One of the things that COVID-19 has made me realize is that the world is a small place. At the time this article was written, COVID 19 has already affected 1,000,168 persons in 204 countries resulting in 51,354 deaths. In Canada, we now have 11,040 cases of the virus with 130 deaths.
At PLC our priority is the safety of our staff and their families. PLC is all about limiting fire risk. This isn’t much different. We are applying a parallel concept to manage a virus instead of fire.
Spatial Separation/Social Distancing: The logic is almost identical. We locate buildings a safe distance from one another to prevent fires from spreading between them. Social distancing works in the same way. So long as we stay 6 ft apart from one another, we limit the potential for COVID-19 to spread from one person to the next. To ensure our staff is safe and social distancing is maintained, we will continue to work from home until such time as the Government of Canada deems that it is safe to lift the social distancing measures. All work-related travel will be evaluated on a case by case basis and every safety measure shall be implemented to ensure the safety of our staff before any travel is approved.
Fire Separations/Self-Isolation, Quarantine: The next step in protecting us from fire or a virus is a physical barrier. In the fire safety industry, we tend to protect stairwells and other vital areas with fire separations. Similarly, we need to protect ourselves and our families by following similar principles of putting a physical barrier between us and the virus as defined in “Community-based measures to mitigate the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Canada”.
Fire Suppression/Personal Hygiene: Sprinkler/gaseous/dry chemical and other suppression systems remove one element of the fire tetrahedron; similarly, soap and water or hand sanitizers removes the protective barrier and kills the virus. Even at home, and especially when out in the public, staff should regularly wash their hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-based sanitizer. If you have tried to purchase your groceries online, you are aware that there is probably a 1-2 week packaging time before you can pick them up from the store. If you need to go to the store to buy groceries, make a list so you get everything you need in one trip. All stores have spray bottles to disinfect the cart this should be used before getting your groceries and again after you have finished. Before you get in your car you should use a hand sanitizer.
When I was a firefighter, it seems we were always concerned about Aids, Hepatitis, SARS or some other pathogen. But by implementing and adhering to basic safety principles including the proper use of PPE and personal hygiene practices, we were able to minimize the risk and to my knowledge, none of our firefighters was ever infected as a result of responding to an emergency.
Stay safe.