FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — Public safety director Shawn Newell said Monday his department was unsure if a potential COVID-19 exposure incident during a training class at the Fort Fairfield Fire Department was connected to an outbreak of the virus in Houlton.
Newell said his department was working with the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate the incident, including its connection to the outbreak in Houlton.
The possible exposure in the Fort Fairfield-area — combined with the Houlton outbreak — represents a potential new chapter for the COVID-19 pandemic in Aroostook County, which had previously only seen 11 cases of the virus. On Monday, the Maine CDC said there were nine active cases in The County.
On Saturday, the Fort Fairfield Fire Department held an EMT training course featuring six students and one instructor. Newell said those courses are commonly held at the station and often involve people from outside Fort Fairfield.
Around 4 p.m., one of the people in that course received a phone call informing them that they had been in contact with someone who had tested positive for the virus.
That individual immediately informed Fort Fairfield authorities, who quickly implemented the town’s emergency action plan. Five members of the Fort Fairfield Fire Department and one Fort Fairfield police officer may have been exposed to the virus. All were tested at Northern Light A.R. Gould on Sunday and are awaiting results in quarantine.
Newell said the exposed officer also made contact with another officer during shift change. Though both officers were socially distanced and wearing masks, that second officer has also been tested for the virus and is quarantining.
The EMT course was in a “large training room” with students and instructors spread apart to ensure social distancing. Though Newell said none of the individuals were in close contact, the tests and quarantining are being done out of an abundance of caution.
“The risk is always there,” Newell said. “That’s why we are taking precautions.”
After the initial test results are received, all of the exposed individuals will be re-tested on Thursday to ensure they are free of the virus.
With potential exposure to two officers, the Fort Fairfield Police Department was left with only Newell and one other officer. Officers from the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office will help the town with police coverage until the two potentially exposed officers return to work.
Newell said there was a clear message from the incident — as well as what occurred in Houlton — that it is imperative to maintain social distancing, mask-wearing and strict hygiene.
“I know we live in Aroostook County and we are sparsely populated. but this virus can spread anywhere,” Newell said. “We sometimes get complacent and I want to make sure we are not doing that.”
