East Rockaway F.D. volunteers change up safety protocols amid pandemic

Emergency medical technicians in the East Rockaway Fire Department have had to switch up their safety protocols amid the coronavirus pandemic while also dealing with the emotional toll it has taken on them and their families.

“It’s difficult emotionally to know that many people are suffering and dying, and there’s not much you can do,” said Skyler Kessler, 24, who has been an EMT with the ERFD Rescue Squad for six years. “I like being on the rescue team because of the intimate connections I made with patients, but now it’s hard with the virus because we have to limit our interactions with people.”

Before the pandemic, when ERFD EMTs responded to rescue calls, they entered people’s homes and spoke with them. Now they must get in and out quickly to avoid risking contracting Covid-19. Squad members are also now required to wear personal protective equipment, including gowns, masks, gloves and eye protection. The back of each ambulance is disinfected after every use. 

Denise Cornell, 40, a first-year volunteer, said that the hardest part of serving during the pandemic is telling families that they can’t accompany their loved ones on ambulance trips to the hospital, to minimize the spread of the virus. And, Cornell said, it’s difficult being unable to follow up with patients who are discharged from the hospital.  

“Sometimes I feel like the only way I can help myself is by helping others, and volunteering during this pandemic has taken its toll on me emotionally, but I have to keep myself together to help people,” she said. “Every call puts our health at risk to help someone in greater need, and sometimes you just feel helpless, like there’s nothing you can do.” 

ERFD Chief Ronald Roeill, who oversees the 30 EMTs and 143 firefighters in the department, said he is volunteering more during the pandemic because the call volume has increased significantly. Fearful that he might infect his family, he had them stay at their upstate vacation home for six weeks to reduce the risk of infection for them.

“We have never experienced anything like this before, and volunteering is a lot more stressful because of the pandemic,” he said. “Stress levels have definitely gone up because members are trying to stay safe so they don’t spread the virus to their families.” 

To help volunteers cope, the department has expanded its Critical Care and Member Assistance Program, for which volunteer members discuss how they are doing and uplift one another with encouraging words. Mary Fahey, a three-year department volunteer, recently became a leader in the program. She reaches out to squad members by phone to ensure they are OK after responding to calls. Outside the department, she helps organize funerals at St. Raymond’s Catholic Church and started a bereavement group there for grieving women, so she has experience working with people in stressful situations.    

The Fire Department’s program “helps me and other members recognize how bad a call was, especially during this pandemic when stress is heightened,” Fahey said, “and it allows stress to come out, which is definitely positive because people need to release stress.”

EMT Theresa Gaffney said that Fahey’s presence has boosted her spirits. “Mary always gives a welcoming call, and I know that I will feel uplifted after a conversation with her,” Gaffney said. “Mary is very spiritual, religious and loving, and she always knows the right words to say to put your thoughts and feelings into perspective.”

Roeill said that EMTs often feel guilty that they can’t save every patient, but the assistance program, he said, has helped them cope with such feelings. “We have seen and heard an overall receptive response from members of the EMT squad,” he said.  “Mary’s calls have lifted their spirits up, and when members are having a down day, it brings a smile to their faces to get a phone call.”