Travis County fire departments facing COVID-19 hardships

Numerous fire department members are out due to COVID-19, and it's not getting better.

AUSTIN, Texas - Several fire departments were called out Thursday morning to a home near Leander. Among those to respond was Lieutenant David Pipkin.

It was supposed to be his day off, but Wednesday afternoon Pipkin was asked to fill in for a sick coworker. Hs answer was easy but telling his family wasn't.

"Explaining it to ... to my wife and my boys can be difficult, especially after I was supposed to go on vacation this shift, this weekend, for my son's birthday," said Pipkin.

Pipkin, like other members of Travis County ESD 1, have to pass a rapid COVID-19 test when reporting to work. Each positive test card resulted in a quarantine. In the locker room where bunker gear is kept, Fire Chief Donnie Norman counted off who was out. Chief Norman says 20 firefighters were scheduled to work Thursday. Eight are out.

"Unfortunately, every time we get one or two back that are now negative from COVID, we get one or two or sometimes three more that are exposed to COVID and are back out. So minimum staffing is it's very hard to achieve right now," said Chief Norman.

Austin Public Health moves into Stage 5 of risk-based guidelines

APH is urging Austin residents to mask up and avoid gatherings amid the COVID-19 omicron variant surge.

Those with close contact can work but social distancing and masking up are encouraged. Volunteers and overtime fill the vacancies. But the number of stations could still face temporary closure, in what’s called a brown out.

"I mean, it's definitely on the table that we may have to start browning out stations because we simply don't have the staff and the availability to bring people back in," said Chief Norman.

The chief says response times have not yet increased, but staffing each truck is a challenge. The situation has gotten to the point where some administrators who typically spend the day driving a desk right are now riding in rescue vehicles.

Filling the gap. Division Chief Tim Robeson has worked three 48-hour EMS shifts in the past week and a half.

"Fortunately, my wife and kiddos are fairly understanding. You know, I've got to I could go for another couple of months, but certainly we've got to have a plan for our long term solution to this COVID problem. And unfortunately, I don't really know that there's a right or wrong answer. It's just, you know, we're going to have to adapt and improvise and come up with a solid plan," said Robeson.

Austin Public Health: 1 in 3 testing positive for COVID-19

Officials say it's now more important than ever to wear masks when interacting with anyone outside of your household to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Chief Norman has even pulled out his gear. He was ready to suit up again Thursday afternoon after a crew member was needed for an ambulance call. But how long this strategy can go on is unknown.

"We don't know. You know, we honestly don't know. We're looking for the long game right now. We're trying to do everything we can to plan for what's going to happen in eight weeks. Again, minimize our exposures," said Chief Norman.

Other fire departments around the Austin metro are also feeling the COVID pinch. The Leander Fire Department tells FOX 7 there are about 5 employees out with COVID. Liberty Hill FD has about a half dozen out. Cedar Park FD has 4 employees currently out.

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