By Mark Reynolds Journal Staff Writer
Fire rescue services in two of Rhode Island’s largest cities, Providence and Cranston, have been reorganized in response to the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Friday afternoon.
Citing a flow of calls from people with flu-like symptoms, Cranston officials announced a restructuring that paves the way for two additional fire rescue units — a fifth unit that has already begun to operate, as well as a sixth unit that would begin operating next week.
In Providence, the city has established a coronavirusdedicated unit, Rescue 5, with its own firehouse at the Reservoir Avenue station.
Cranston’s director of administration, Daniel O. Parrillo, said the city has seen a rise in rescue runs, compared with the number of runs in the previous year, since late February.
The city has had a fifth unit that was staffed part-time and deployed under special circumstances.
That unit, which has already seen some work during the pandemic, will now move to full-time operation around the clock, said Parrillo.
Meanwhile, Cranston’s acquisition of a new fire rescue truck also left the city with an older unit. The presence of those wheels in the fleet allows the city to deploy the needed equipment for the sixth unit, he said.
To staff these units without increasing the cost to taxpayers, the firefighters union offered to temporarily waive language in the contract to shift some personnel from assignments on fire engines to EMS units, Parrillo said.
“It will also allow our valuable first-responders the chance to debrief, decompress and decontaminate from these difficult calls for service,” said Mayor Allan Fung.
Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré said the overall volume of calls for police and fire services has decreased during the pandemic. However, the city is fielding a stream of calls from people who suspect they are sick with COVID-19.
Those calls have ranged from six to 12 calls per 24-hour period during the last few days. Some patients, those describing the full array of coronavirus symptoms, were transported, while others did not meet the medical requirements for transport, Paré said.
Paré said he doesn’t know how many of the people transported have tested positive for the coronavirus. The EMS personnel working on the fire trucks are supplied with protective equipment, Paré said.
Ten firefighters volunteered to work on the unit, he said, adding that he was impressed by the interest.
“This allows appropriate medical care to take place while minimizing exposure to the community,” the president of Providence’s firefighters union, Derek Silva, tweeted on Wednesday. mreynold@ providencejournal.com
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