How you can help Clayton firefighters hospitalized with COVID-19

On Wednesday at the Jeff Adams Gymnasium at Clayton High School, the public can drop off monetary donations, gift cards or other items for firefighters between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. or between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Donations will be accepted each day through Friday at the same times.

People who want to help from home can send checks or money to the Clayton Firefighters Association at address PO Box 155, Clayton, NC 27528.

As of Wednesday, two of four Clayton firefighters hospitalized with COVID-19 are back home and recovering.

Seventeen staffers in the Clayton Fire Department – more than 40 percent – have tested positive for the virus since Aug. 7, according to Fire Chief Lee Barbee.

Two other firefighters are still receiving care at Johnston Health in Smithfield, along with one spouse.

The Clayton community has rallied around the firefighters since learning of the outbreak. On Wednesday at Clayton High School, the public can drop off donations for firefighters' families between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. or between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

The Clayton Fire Department still hasn’t been able to trace where the first firefighter could have contracted the virus, but Barbee said working so closely with the public is likely a part of it. "Social distancing isn’t always easy to do when responding to emergencies or living together under one roof," Barbee said. "Many don’t realize our firefighters respond to more than just fires, in fact, they respond mostly to medical calls and car accidents, and that includes going into homes and coming into close contact with patients who may have COVID-19."

On Monday, Barbee said Clayton firefighters are working 36-hour shifts to protect the town as more than a dozen of their colleagues have been infected with coronavirus.

"Our guys are tired," he said at a news conference. "We're just having to fight, and we are fighting. Our guys are fighting. They're doing everything they can."

Barbee said, before the outbreak, firefighters wore protective gear when out on calls but only cloth masks in the firehouse. Now, they wear N95 masks in the firehouse.

Also, there is no longer any contact between firefighters during shift changes, and crews have increased their social distancing in the firehouse, including during meals and while sleeping, he said.

"I personally think that we were doing a good job before. I just think that it came in and got us," Barbee said of the virus.

The department hasn't had a positive test result since last Wednesday, he said, and the firefighters still on duty have been repeatedly tested to ensure that they aren't infected.