Hesitancy about getting the vaccine is leaving firefighters vulnerable to the coronavirus. | Unsplash/Mufid Majnun
Hesitancy about getting the vaccine is leaving firefighters vulnerable to the coronavirus. | Unsplash/Mufid Majnun
Flames. Collapsing buildings. Smoke inhalation. Such dangers go with the job of putting out fires, but firefighters are now facing a new hazard: COVID-19.
Since the official start of the pandemic, 11 Wisconsin firefighters have died in the line of duty, with the coronavirus being cited as the cause, according to a report on Fox47. The breakdown includes three COVID-related deaths in 2020, six last year and two already in 2022.
“Every firefighter in the world wants to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem,” Chris Klahn, a Montello Fire Department employee who is on the board of directors for the Wisconsin State Firefighter Association, told Fox47. “This pandemic has just been a struggle to try to keep ourselves healthy, our families healthy and still respond to those calls for service.”
The coronavirus has become the leading cause of death for all first responders, Fox47 said, but the firefighting profession has been hit harder than police.
One reason firefighters are more susceptible to contracting the virus is that many have EMS training, which requires them to interact with sick people more often.
The report cited hesitancy to get the vaccine as one of the culprits, presenting data that showed only half of the police and firefighters in Milwaukee were inoculated as of last fall as an example.
“There is some reluctance, and I’m sure firefighters have made a personal choice if they choose not to be immunized,” Klahn said in response to that assertion.
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