SAN ANTONIO – Getting personal protective equipment, or PPE, has been a challenge for some agencies amid the coronavirus pandemic. San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood said decontamination units located at the Freeman Coliseum could help.
The equipment made by the company Battelle can decontaminate N95 respirators using hydrogen peroxide vapor.
The Battelle systems can decontaminate up to 80,000 masks a day, Hood said.
“We’re going to be able to recycle masks, get those masks clean, sanitize, make sure they’re safe and then return the masks that the agency sends to us back to them,” Hood said.
WATCH: Officials announce decontamination facility for up to 80,000 N-95 masks daily in San Antonio
Hood said the company is working with 28 counties.
“For everyone else, or smaller jurisdictions that really need the help, the nursing homes, all of those folks will be able to bring their mask here, and we’ll be able to decontaminate it,” Hood said.
The protective equipment is especially crucial for hospitals.
A spokesperson for University Health System said the entire system uses about 3,500 masks, 46,000 pairs of gloves and 3,000 gowns just in one day.
“Our first responders are all looking at three-plus weeks of PPE availability. Right now, that is what we look at every single day. But, again, understanding our burn rates could change,” Hood said.
Hood said PPE is crucial for first responders, too.
“You’ve seen that we’ve had an outbreak at Station 14, and we were wearing PPE. We’re doing everything that we can. But to have the competence to send your folks out into homes and deal with people that are potentially sick, you need to make sure that you have PPE,” Hood said.
Hood said four decontamination units will be up and running by this weekend.