Sarasota firefighter tests positive for COVID-19

SARASOTA — A Sarasota County firefighter who began feeling ill on March 22 has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Fire Chief Michael Regnier made the announcement during a hastily called press conference Friday afternoon after the department learned the results earlier that morning.

The firefighter, who does not live in Sarasota County, is at home in self-quarantine.

“My heart goes out to him and his family,” Regnier said. “I’m very concerned and want to make sure he is okay. He is part of our family.”

Regnier declined to disclose the man’s name or age, saying only that he was in his thirties.

Regnier said the department is backtracking on every call the man went on, which are few since he had been on vacation for the month before he returned to work on March 22.

When he arrived at the station that day, his temperature was checked––a standard procedure for all personnel now—and was cleared for duty. Later in the day, he became ill feeling feverish and went home.

Regnier did not say when he took the test.

Although the man is a firefighter-paramedic, he was working on an engine that day so there was no interaction with patients. However, the three firefighters he was working with that day are also in self-quarantine at home but are not showing symptoms of the virus.

The man worked at Station 17 on 17^th Street in Sarasota, which is now being decontaminated and cleaned. Firefighters at that station have been deployed to other stations in the immediate area until the Health Department indicates it’s safe for them to return.