Whether here in Michigan, or in Ledyard, a small town in southeastern Connecticut, emergencies don’t stop just because the rest of the world has stopped.
“Whole COVID-19 virus has completely changed how the emergency services respond to emergencies, medical emergencies in particular,” Saccone said.
The Gales Ferry Volunteer Fire Company has been Tony’s home away from home for 20 years. He’s been a firefighter for 40 years, spending some of other time as a firefighter on the Groton Naval Submarine Base.
He’s survived Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, but he’s never seen anything like this.
“So, it’s unusual for a fire chief to tell the volunteers not to come around,” Saccone said.
Tony is Chief at the firehouse, managing 22 volunteers and employees.
“But we try to encourage come as needed we could always use your help,” Saccone said.
For the 20 years that Tony has been here at the Gales Ferry Fire Company it has never been closed to the public.
“We try and limit how many people are in the firetrucks generally we can hold six, so were trying to reduce it to four,” Saccone said.
The company hasn’t responded to any confirmed cases.
“We have outfitted the trucks with full protective clothing which is a gown, goggles and face masks,” Saccone said.
No matter what happens, he’s always ready for an emergency.
“Puts a strain at home on the family being home together. But more importantly, well just as important is here at the firehouse because we are family here as well,” Saccone said.