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THURSDAY, APR IL 30, 2020 • KOKOMO TR IBUNE / PHAROS-TR IBUNE
TYLER JURANOVICH
KOKOMO TRIBUNE
T
he COVID-19 pandemic has
changed many aspects of life,
and that’s no different for
Kokomo’s firefighters.
Like every day at the department,
safety is the No. 1 priority. But that
has been taken to a whole new level
during the pandemic.
The department has begun doing the
obvious and necessary, wearing N95
masks, gloves and even Tyvek suits
when needed on medical and fire calls.
But the little things have changed
too.
Firefighters no longer bring
their work uniform home. Instead,
uniforms are put on and taken off
and washed at the fire station. Hands
are washed in the parking garage
before firefighters return to the living
quarters.
So far, the measures have been suc-
cessful. As of mid-April no Kokomo
firefighter has tested positive for
COVID-19.
That has been a blessing for Chirs
Frazier, KFD fire chief.
“Whether you’re a firefighter, the
union president or the fire chief, your
No. 1 concern in all those positions
are the firefighters underneath you,”
he said. “You’re always trying to come
up with ideas, suggestions and now
as fire chief, policies that make sure
you are taking care of the people and
giving them all the tools to be success-
ful and safe.”
Veteran firefighters Brad Myers and
Jason Braden both see the job like
living with a whole other family.
“It’s a second family,” Braden said.
“A lot of the times we spend Christmas
and birthdays together, whatever it
may be.
For Myers, firefighting literally
runs in the family. Myers is a second
generation firefighter; both of his
grandparents have been firefighters
- one with the KFD and another as a
volunteer firefighter.
“It’s something I’ve always been
around since I was a child,” he said
about the profession.
The two have seen and dealt with
a lot of challenges in their combined
service of more than 50 years.
One of the most challenging days
the two can remember was fighting a
fire at the intersection of Vaile Avenue
and Market Street in the winter of late
2016 or early 2017. A cold front had
descended upon Kokomo and temper-
atures were at a scary low -40 degrees
- so cold the diesel fuel in the trucks
began to gelatinize.
“It was the coldest I’ve ever been,”
Braden said.
But even a situation that bad
couldn’t prepare the department for
the daily challenge that is COVID-19.
“We’re meeting new challenges
every day, and things are changing
every week,” Myers said. “We’re
wearing PPE now not just to the
medical calls, but on the fire calls
for something like a fire alarm at an
assisted living facility or an apart-
ment, we haven’t had to do that past
years.”
When on medical calls, firefight-
ers are now taking precautions when
it comes to face-to-face interactions
with residents.
“We’ve always been the type of
department that wants to get there
and be up close with these patients so
that they understand and know our
presence and understand we’re there
to help them,” Braden said. “Now,
we’re having to separate ourselves to
a certain point, and sometimes we
can’t prevent cross contamination
if we have an unresponsive patient
and have to perform CPR. That’s why
engine crews are having to put on
Tyvek suits before we even leave the
station. It’s totally not normal.”
NEW CHALLENGES
Things are changing for local firefighters every week
Photo by Tim Bath
Kokomo firefighters Jason Braden and Brad Myers
have a combined
service of more than 50 years.
