PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) - In a letter sent to the Broward County Commission, local first responders are demanding the activation of a higher emergency level so they can receive much-needed personal protective equipment.
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in South Florida, officials with Broward’s firefighters union said they are working in unprecedented conditions.
Speaking with reporters on Monday, Scott Bayne with the Broward County Council of Professional Fire Fighters compared to crisis to a natural disaster.
“This is the hurricane of medical for Broward County. That’s what we’re facing,” he said.
With the pandemic showing no signs of abating in Florida, first responders said they’re frustrated by Broward County’s Emergency Operations Center.
“From a first responder, we are very concerned about it,” said Bayne.
The EOC is supposed to be the nerve center for the county’s response to COVID-19, but firefighters and the Broward County Medical Association are sounding the alarm that the agency is not functioning the way it’s supposed to and could be putting lives at risk.
They said the EOC is not allocating PPE fast enough for the various agencies and is not open long enough hours.
“Everybody is competing against each other trying to get the equipment needed, so if, say, one of the other cities in Broward County may get a big order in, another city may not have any,” said Bayne. “The county is the one who should be coordinating those efforts, and that is not happening at the county level.”
That is why, Bayne said, they wrote a letter to the county commission about their concerns. It reads in part, “We are making this direct appeal to alert you that staffing at the Broward County EOC is not in line with staffing in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. As one of the counties most impacted by this pandemic, this is unacceptable.”
The letter goes on to say, “We are hearing from all levels of the emergency care and hospital facilities that this staffing shortfall has been severely hindering our county, cities, hospitals and other essential services to stay ahead of this threat.”
“We don’t know when this is going to be over. We are hearing, in the next few weeks, it’s going to be our peak point for this, and we are urging the county to please activate the EOC, so that we can have a unified body across this county,” said Bayne.
In the letter, first responders demanded the EOC remain open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Miami-Dade’s EOC is already operating extended hours, from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day.
Monday evening, Sunrise Mayor Michael J. Ryan said he agrees with the letter, and the EOC needs to make the requested changes.
As of Monday evening, the director of Broward’s EOC has not replied to 7News’ calls for comment.
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