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Oklahoma firefighters have created a fast-working way to disinfect equipment without damaging it, and the sprayer system comes as the department continues to combat the coronavirus.
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Developed by two Tulsa firefighters, the system disinfects by spraying hypochlorous acid on the gear and apparatus, killing viruses in 60 seconds without needing to be wiped off, KOTV-TV reports. Currently, firefighters use a bleach product to disinfect equipment, which can be a time-consuming process.
"Our own employees figured out a way to make this mobile and efficient and quick," Andy Little, a Tulsa Fire Department spokesman, told KOTV.
One of the biggest benefits of the system is that it can be used on practically every bit of equipment used by firefighters, including patient blood pressure cuffs and the inside of ambulances and other vehicles. The system also can be put together out of items found at most fire stations.
"As of now, we've treated the dispatch center, and we've treated numerous police cars, because it's an issue. They're picking up numerous people and there's no way to know if those people are exposed or not" Little told KOTV.
Eventually, all of the stations will have the new disinfection system, and firefighters would use it following every medical call. And with every U.S. community caught in the coronavirus pandemic, the department is sharing the system's plans with their fellow firefighters.
