17 Wake Forest firefighters quarantined after coworker tests positive for COVID-19
WAKE FOREST, N.C. (WTVD) -- Wake Forest Fire Department Station 2 is back open after they closed for a 30-hour deep clean. Now, firefighers are hoping for negative results.
Over the weekend, the station on Ligon Mill Road learned one of its firefighters tested positive for COVID-19, closing the facility out of an abundance of caution.
"We're in a watching mode more than anything to make sure this is under control the best we can," said Wake Forest Fire Department Chief Ron Early.
Early said the firefighter said he wasn't feeling well Saturday morning, and a rapid test revealed he was positive for COVID-19. Now, 17 of Wake Forest's 84 full-time firefighters will be quarantined until they get tested.
"The community needs to know we will continue to serve. When we do respond we still use our precautions and personal protective equipment," Early said.
Wake Forest isn't the first Triangle community to see COVID-19 cases in its fire department. In August, 17 Clayton firefighters tested positive for the virus. One firefighter died, as did another firefighter's wife.
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The Wake Forest Fire Department will test all 17 firefighters on Tuesday. They wanted to wait to complete the three-to-four-day incubation period to get the most accurate results.
