NJ COVID: New high-tech spray disinfects ambulances of viruses in 2 minutes

ByToni Yates WABC logo

Thursday, January 28, 2021

High-tech spray disinfects ambulances of COVID in 2 minutes

Toni Yates has more on high-tech disinfectant spray that can knock out the COVID virus and other viruses in a matter of minutes.

NEPTUNE, New Jersey (WABC) -- A community in New Jersey is the first in the nation to try a high-tech system that can disinfect an ambulance in just two minutes.

The disinfectant spray is helping first responders in Neptune keep their ambulances germ free.

Neptune EMS manager Bill Rosen says they use it for more than just COVID. He says it's a robust cleaning solution that can disinfect influenza, ebola and sars.

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Before they installed the sprayers in all six ambulances, they would use a handheld sprayer. It was snails-pace technology.

"It was cumbersome because we didn't carry it on the ambulances, someone had to be called, had to respond to the hospital, spray down the truck and then get it back in service -- so that would be about a 30 minutes out of service time," Rosen said.

Thanks to the cleaning system, the turnaround time between dropping off a patient at the hospital and getting back into service has dramatically dropped.

"It's the flip of a switch, the crew can do while they're cleaning up at the hospital," Rosen said. "It's a game changer because our truck is back in service within minutes instead of waiting for a crew to come clean."

This first caught the attention of the Asbury Park Press, then its article made its way to first responder trade magazines, and now other squads are asking about the system.

"It was cost effective -- you can't put a price on protecting our crew and patients and anyone else who might be in the ambulance," Rosen said.

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