MA Union: 'Very Large Spike' in Coronavirus-Affected FFs Soon

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The state firefighter union president is sounding the alarm over a potential “very large spike” in firefighters sidelined by coronavirus over the next few weeks, calling for legislative help as protective equipment runs thin.

“Over the next few weeks we’re predicting a large number of firefighters and other public safety personnel being either quarantined or sick,” said Richard MacKinnon Jr., president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts union. “We could see a very large spike in first responders, firefighters affected.”

MacKinnon called for the state to pass bills that would make it so that emergency responders who contract contagious diseases be presumed to have done so in the line of duty unless proven otherwise — and therefore be in line for benefits as though injured on the job. One bill that would do that generally is in the Committee on Public Safety, and another specifically about COVID-19 is in Ways & Means, both pending on Beacon Hill as the state prepares for its peak in cases to come in the next few weeks.

“We’re willing to go in there and put ourselves on the line — but we need this protection,” MacKinnon said.

MacKinnon said 62 union members have tested positive and 623 have been tested — with most still awaiting their results.

Just one week ago, only eight of the 12,000 union members had tested positive.

MacKinnon said the much-documented shortages of personal protective equipment — PPE — are increasing the danger to firefighters. The shortages are also causing departments to send fewer people to medical responses, as more can’t be protected.

“We’re actually going to have to scale back manpower, we’re going to have to scale back responses as this thing wears on,” MacKinnon said. “It’s like a vicious cycle that we’re running into.”

In the 40 major city police departments in the state, 100 cops have tested positive and 180 are quarantined, said Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes, president of the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs of Police. That’s up from only a handful of officers testing positive this time last week.

“Those numbers could double or triple or quadruple,” Kyes said of the number of officers testing positive over the next few weeks. “The surge is definitely upon us.”

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