GREEN, Ohio — Wearing protective suits, face respirators, gloves and boots, workers from Allen Keith Construction sprayed a cleaning agent, followed by an antimicrobial disinfectant known as Puribond, inside and outside of ambulances at the Green Fire Department.
The cleaning system, made by Independence-based Microshield 360, works against viruses like COVID-19, the flu and MRSA for at least six months after application, according to Zoe Nemeth, the director of marketing for Allen Keith Construction, which also operates CleanTech based in Green.
"It actually attacks the center of the pathogen and breaks it apart, so if you can imagine like a sword, going into whatever the pathogen may be and it breaks it apart, but continues to exist and thrive, so it actually continuously prevents anything that comes onto a surface," Nemeth said.
Lt. Randy Porter said his firefighters have transported about 25 patients with the coronavirus during the pandemic. No firefighters have contracted the virus and the department wants to keep it that way.
"Anything that we can do to protect our guys from having that lay on surface for any extended amount of time, anything that will keep any type of bacteria or virus from our personnel and our patients-- that's number one to take care of the patients," Porter said.
The full service restoration company started using Puribond a few months ago at restaurants and small businesses. Nemeth said demand for the cleaning and coating is growing as more places reopen in Northeast Ohio.
The typical cost for the spray treatments is 50 to 75 cents per square foot, but the company sanitized the Green squads for for free.
"Be able to offer this service to them, we are hoping to keep them safe, but also keep the people safe that they're transporting safe, as safe as possible," Nemeth said.
Porter explained the department continues to implement its own safeguards, including a cleaning regimen, wearing masks around the firehouse, wearing N-95 masks on calls and practicing social distancing in the kitchen and day room.
He said firefighters are grateful for the extra layer of protection that was provided by spraying their vehicles.
"We don't want to put our guards down, so we'll continue to do every single measure up until the governor tells us that we're allowed to go back to normal."
