October 27, 2020
"We’ve been presented with a unique set of challenges, and we’re lucky we all stick together.”
Trevor Nason works on Medcu 1 for the Portland Fire Department at Munjoy Hill, and he says the dynamic of care has changed since coronavirus.
“The challenges with increased PPE made the hot summer days pretty brutal,” said Trevor, “when it was 95 degrees out it was a struggle at times to see through our goggles because they were fogged up.” As a department and crew, Trevor feels fortunate for how supportive his team is of each other and how they’ve worked together to adapt to the changes in the way they respond to and triage patients.
The department has been doing well with mitigating their risk, and they’ve had minimal exposure. The crew has been able to protect themselves, and their families, while providing to the community. “It provides a sense of comfort,“ Trevor said, “to know that we’re doing everything we can to protect our own health and well-being and we feel fortunate to have the proper resources to do that.” One of the most notable resources the department has used are two hazmat qualified firefighters who sanitize ambulances after they’ve responded to a covid call. Trevor added, “It’s been an incredible resource for us, and knowing that the ambulances are clean for our next calls has made us feel safer. We’ve been presented with a unique set of challenges, and we’re lucky our crew and the community has stuck together.”
The community has shown an outpouring of support. Local shops have made masks, businesses have brought goodies and the shop across the street from the department has been offering coffee. While the end of the pandemic is unknown, Trevor has hopes for the future saying, “from our standpoint, I hope to have more people interested in this job and the next generation of firefighters and paramedics come work with us.”
Thank you, Trevor, and the Portland Fire Department, for being the #HeartAndSoulOfTheCommunity
