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Winnipeg firefighters take swine flu precautions
Winnipeg Free PressJune 14, 2009
WINNIPEG -- An increasing number of H1N1 flu virus cases has prompted Winnipeg's firefighters and paramedics to take extra precautions when responding to medical calls.
Alex Forrest, president of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, said firefighters answering medical calls are taking the appropriate precautions if it's an unknown sickness.
"If they're told it's an unknown sickness, then they take the universal precaution of goggles, masks and gloves," Forrest said.
Firefighters and paramedics are supposed to wear gloves, goggles and masks if they're responding to a suspected case of H1N1 flu virus - measures which can help prevent the spread of the virus.
But Forrest said now those precautions are being taken if firefighters don't know what they're going to find.
Forrest said firefighters responded to an unusually high number of calls between Friday and Saturday, adding most of them involved suspected cases of H1N1 flu.
"I saw the report and we were inundated with 220 calls in a 24-hour period, it was a record," Forrest said. "And the majority, maybe 90 per cent, involved suspected cases of H1N1 virus, transporting sick people to hospital."
Forrest said he couldn't explain the high number of calls or say how many were actually tied to the H1N1 virus, but added that firefighters wore masks, goggles and gloves to each of the calls.
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