People who respond to emergencies first, like firefighters and EMS personnel, received a range of training last Friday on protecting themselves as well as those they save. ideastream Health Reporter Lisa Ann Pinkerton has more.
This year's Public Health Preparedness conference at Cleveland State University focused on first responders responsibilities to themselves and their families; for example, not bringing potentially contaminated gear home. They were pressed to see the difference between what's clean and what's sterile. And speaker Doctor Jacqueline Moline stressed the vital importance of mandatory respirators and communicating clearly with the public about hazards at emergency sites. She studies the thousands of Americans who cleaned up Ground Zero after 9/11 and who now suffer from major respiratory problems. She says this is mainly because they were told the air was safe to breathe, without being told the safety standards.
Jacqueline Moline: It defies logic to say that the air is safe just using a very limited number of criteria - because we don't have a standard for it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Moline cautioned Northeast Ohio's emergency responder to be conservative with public safety announcements and document people given access to emergency scenes. Lisa Ann Pinkerton, 90.3.