The coronavirus has left the Winnebago Fire Department a little shorthanded.
Tripleanews.com has learned that seven of the department’s firefighters have been tested for COVID-19.
“Once they got word that there could have been COVID exposure during a call, they decided as a department to get testing done for those who were on the call,” says City Administrator Jake Skluzacek.
Under a mutual aid agreement, Blue Earth and Delavan fire departments have volunteered to help.
Skluzacek says a first round of testing was done last week and another round is scheduled later this week.
“No positives have come back,” he says. “They need to administer two tests in order to account for false positives.”
Some of the firefighters are self-quarantining, says the city administrator, depending on the requirements for their full-time jobs.
Currently, there are 22 volunteer firefighters on the department’s roster who respond to fire, search and rescue, and hazardous material emergencies in a 118 square mile area.