BROOKLINE, MASS. (WHDH) - Emergency crews are still hard at work during the coronavirus outbreak and the Brookline library is doing its part to aid their efforts by offering their facility to firefighters in need of a place to spread out.
Early last month, several Brookline firefighters were pulled out of the town’s two largest fire stations and moved into the town library and Coolidge Corner School in an effort to practice safe social distancing.
“They were able to bring in beds and a computer for their command center and we were able to offer them full kitchens and a shower and a place to park the engine so it was pretty easy,” a library employee told 7NEWS.
“As the fire chief, my responsibility is to the firefighters of the town of Brookline is making sure they are safe,” Chief John Sullivan said.
When one firefighter tests positive, every firefighter in that station must be isolated. So far, five firefighters have tested positive.
As the pandemic grew worse in March, Sullivan said that at one point those numbers ballooned to a third of his workforce forced to quarantine.
“That means that we’re bringing in firefighters from different shifts or different stations into another station, which is obviously an effect that we don’t want to put in place because now they go back to their own stations and potentially could be exposing other folks,” he explained.
The town said they are happy to do what they can to support these frontline workers who are putting their lives on the line to keep the community safe.
“Everyone’s pitching in to do everything they can to help our first responders,” Library Director Sara Slymon said. “We don’t want them getting sick. Without them obviously, our safety would be compromised.”
Chief Sullivan said thankfully all of his firefighters who tested positive or were quarantined are back to work and doing well.
“We wanted to take extra precautions and make sure that we had the ability to isolate the companies away from each other so the impact to the department and the potential impact to our members and their families would be lessened,” he said.
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