Help will still be on the way if you call Durham County 911 for a medical emergency, but you may have to wait just a little longer if your call isn’t life threatening.

Fire departments and EMS agencies typically work together to answer medical calls, whether someone is having stomach pains or experiencing a heart attack. Shared responsibility ensures help is always available, especially if EMS crews are busy or spread across the county. In rural areas, volunteer firefighters, who typically are trained as medical first responders, may be able to get to patients faster.

Some of that is changing this week in reaction to the continuing spread of COVID-19, Durham County and the city of Durham announced Wednesday. Durham Fire Department Deputy Chief Chris Iannuzzi said he doesn’t expect the change, which is temporary, to make a big difference in what the public sees when they call for help.

“The purpose is just to keep as many members of the EMS system able to respond by limiting the number that we’re exposing to COVID-19,” Iannuzzi said. “So it’s for the non-life-threatening call that the response is reduced.”

Firefighters will still answer more serious calls, including heart attacks and wrecks, and respond when EMS is overwhelmed, he said. They’ll also continue to help rural fire departments and the Durham Police Department and Durham County Sheriff’s Office.

The changes also won’t affect when they can call on the Lebanon, Bahama, and Redwood volunteer fire departments to help with calls involving larger patients.

Protecting people, saving supplies

The change will limit the exposure that firefighters have to possible COVID-19 infections and also conserve critical personal protective equipment, such as masks and gowns, that is becoming scarce in parts of the country, Iannuzzi and Durham County EMS Assistant Chief Lee Van Vleet said.

“We’re actually in pretty good shape in Durham County, but knowing that the availability of PPE is certainly going to be an issue as this continues, we just want to be really judicious in our use of it,” Van Vleet said.

Other steps already have been taken in Durham and across the Triangle. They include limiting the number of medical responders who enter a building to treat the patient and having 911 operators ask additional questions to determine which patients may have a possible coronavirus infections.

Durham will be tracking its 911 calls to see how the new policy affects the emergency response, Van Vleet said. Response time is always critical, he said, but they only expect the change to affect less-serious calls.

“If you’re a 70-year-old with a history of three heart attacks, you’re having trouble breathing and chest pain, and you’re having trouble speaking between breaths, then you’re going to get a maximum response,” Van Vleet said. “But if you’re a 15-year-old who’s been playing sports and says their chest is sore, then it’s less likely you’re going to get that maximum response.”

Orange, Wake changes

In Wake County, the Fire Department is considering whether to reduce its role in responding to medical calls, said Wake County EMS Asst. Chief Jeffrey Hammerstein.

The Fire Department’s response already is limited in some ways by COVID-19, he noted, because a fire unit that arrives before EMS now will check the patient’s condition at the door. If it’s not a critical call, only one firefighter stays at the door to wait for EMS to arrive, he said.

“One of the interesting things is that call volume has come down a little bit in the last two weeks with the stay-at-home orders and so overall our staff is doing pretty well,” Hammerstein said. “Certainly, there is some anxiety for anybody in that situation, without a doubt, but overall, we’re doing pretty well.”

Orange County 911 has stopped sending fire departments to calls when a patient is suspected of having a coronavirus infection, county spokesman Todd McGee said. The move is aimed at protecting firefighters from unnecessary risk, he said.

In Carrboro, however, firefighters continue to answer medical calls when EMS isn’t available to respond, Fire Chief Dave Schmidt said.

“Obviously, if we need to put our hands on someone to provide care, we’re going to put our hands on the person to provide care,” Schmidt said. “We’re taking a couple seconds to have that distance, ask those questions, and confirm they’re not running a fever, don’t have a respiratory infection and things like that.”

Schmidt noted that emergency responders across the area are planning for a surge of calls next week, when researchers have predicted North Carolina will see a peak in the number of infections and deaths.

This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 5:22 PM with the headline "COVID-19 is forcing local fire departments to stop answering some 911 medical calls."