FARGO — Off-duty firefighters were quietly helping at a critical time in the COVID-19 pandemic in a role some might find surprising.
They threw away their firefighting equipment and donned masks, gloves and other protective clothing to rub against others who visited the once-busy COVID-19 testing site, helping ease labor shortages.
During its busiest time, the peak of the initial omicron wave, the testing center served 4,000 to 5,000 more people per day, and firefighters were instrumental in dealing with the influx, said Doug Murphy, regional emergency preparedness coordinator for Fargo Cass Public Health.
“I relied heavily on licensed firefighters,” said Murphy, who installed and oversaw the control at 3051 25th St. S. The checking outlet is ending operations and will close on Feb. 24.
Off-duty firefighters from Fargo and West Fargo have been instrumental in staffing the COVID testing center, especially since nurses have been so stretched to the limit of the pandemic, Murphy said.
“If we hadn’t had firefighters on leave at this site, our lines would have been there all day,” he said. “And they were satisfied to be there. “
Firefighters often checked in for eight- to 12-hour shifts at the control site, on their days off after a 24-hour shift as firefighters, Murphy said.
Tim Binfet, department chief of the Fargo Fire Department, estimated that about 30 Fargo firefighters were regulars at the site.
“We made a call because I wasn’t on duty,” he said. Firefighters helped overhaul the medium between November 2020 and February 2022.
“Some took much longer than others,” Binfet said. We’ve had some guys who have spent a few hours testing. We have complemented them a lot.
All firefighters are trained as emergency medical technicians and some are trained paramedics, he said, allowing them to take samples for lab analysis.
“It’s smart that they’ve been given the opportunity,” Binfet said.
The use of firefighters for COVID-19 testing has its roots in the unprecedented reaction to the Red River flooding in 2009, when firefighters joined city engineers in flood-prone neighborhoods and added brigades of sandbags, he said.
Forty-eight firefighters from the West Fargo Fire Department assisted at the COVID-19 testing site, offering 30 hours of testing, time that came with the installation and dismantling of cell sites, said Addisen Stewart, communications specialist for the City of West Fargo. . .
Keeping the control site running was a constant challenge, with shortages of personnel and sources, among other logistical hurdles that needed to be overcome, Murphy said.
The first challenge was locating a location with an owner willing to hire an area for a COVID-19 testing site, he said.
Many landlords didn’t need to hire a COVID-19 verification site, and some even had provisions in their rentals prohibiting such activity, Murphy said. Before locating the vacant store location, the verification site occupied a former church in West Fargo, until the construction was sold.
“It wasn’t easy to find a place,” he said. No one wanted to hire us. “
After identifying 40 to 50 locations, Murphy moved into the vacant Family Fare mall store at 25th Street South, which serves critical needs.
“I looked for anything that was in a high-traffic domain on a bus route” and with convenient public parking, he said.
When the test volume surpassed the initial peak of the omicron wave in December 2021 and January 2022, the test site required more space. Fortunately, an adjacent store was empty and had to allow the site to expand, Murphy said.
Addressing the shortage of materials and body of workers is an ongoing challenge. “Every day, a new day,” he said. There were days when we thought we wouldn’t have enough materials, but we never had to close.
March 31, 2022 was the last day Fargo Cass Public Health operated the control site. At that time, the operation passed into the hands of the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, which still had a source of investment for the service.
Until account closure, the account is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 12:00 to 17:00.
“Our testing numbers continue to decline” as at-home testing has been widely used, said Nicole Weigel, the state’s director of testing and collection.
In addition, the need for COVID-19 testing has decreased as fewer people want to get tested to travel, function or work, he said.
In early February, more than 375,000 s were administered at the site, which, along with Fargo Cass Public Health, has distributed more than 331,000 home kits, Weigel said.
COVID-19 testing remains at Essentia Health and Sanford Health.