As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to rapidly evolve, the Keystone Valley Fire Department has been planning to assure the fire company is ready to address the situation, and also ready to respond when needed.

The primary objective of KVFD planning for COVID-19 is to assure the availability of our members and staff to be able to respond to emergency calls in our community. As a result, much of our focus has been on assuring that our first responders are as isolated as possible and practical.

As such, the KVFD has taken a series of steps:

- Suspending group gatherings, including meetings, public firehouse tours, public fire safety education programs in the community, and firehouse visitors

- Practicing "distancing" policies, including asking first responders to not standby at firehouses, restricting how patient families ride in the ambulances and isolating emergency crews from entering residences except those directly in patient contact

- Increasing the cleaning and sanitizing of the ambulances and apparatus and fire stations regularly during the day and after each call

- Regularly communicating with our first responders and government officials about the rapidly evolving situation.

For the community, here are some recommendations to help you:

- Use official government websites as your reliable source of information

- These sites are from the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html) and the Chester County Dept. of Health (https://www.chesco.org/4376/Coronavirus-COVID-19)

- When calling for an emergency, expect the 911 center to ask questions about your recent health history, and those of the people in your household. Our crews will ask as well. This information helps us know how to best respond.

- Always call your doctor or hospital before going there. With the current situation, hospitals are severely restricting access for visitors and family members of patients and may want you to use a special entrance if you have or are exhibiting signs of COVID-19.

We thank the community for their continued support of KVFD, especially during this current situation and your support all the time!

There are several links below to assist our Community with information:

https://www.cdc.gov
https://www.chesco.org/4376/Coronavirus-COVID-19
https://chesco.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/975082d579454c3ca7877db0a44e61ca