Like any other profession, individual firefighters and other first responders could get sidelined by the coronavirus. Ainsworth Fire Chief Waylon Schultz says while they’ve had some firefighters and EMS workers who’ve had to quarantine, which could reduce how many people are available on emergency calls, his department is still ready to respond to any fire call that comes in.  However, if firefighters find themselves reporting to a non-fire situation like a minor-injury car accident or entering any building not on fire, Schultz says the threat of COVID-19 could change their approach in responding to those calls, “If we show up at your house right now, we’re going to show up and have our masks on and everything else, but there might even be case where we sit outside if we know it’s a COVID-related call and there’s not immediate life-threat there. We might sit outside and wait for the ambulance to get there and send in the minimum amount of people that we have to. So, if we do show up right now and it’s known as a COVID-call, don’t think we’re scared to come in. It’s just that we have protocols we need to follow right now to try to keep our responders safe so we can keep as many responders healthy as we can to respond to any kind of emergency.” And now that we’re into the heating season, Schultz reminds residents to use caution and follow the instructions on portable heating units to help reduce the possibility of a fire.