Officers with the Jamestown Police Department are pictured with face masks on at the scene of a house fire last week on West Seventh Street. First responders have begun wearing the masks following a mandate by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. P-J file photo by Eric Tichy

First responders in Jamestown are among essential workers sporting face masks during the coronavirus pandemic.

Matthew Coon, acting deputy chief of the Jamestown Fire Department, and Harry Snellings, chief of the Jamestown Police Department, gave reports to the Jamestown City Council during a work session meeting earlier this week about how their officers and firefighters have the personal protective equipment they need during the pandemic.

Coon said the fire department has plenty of equipment and is working with county officials to make sure that continues. Snellings said each officer has three masks and there are more, if needed. He said all officers have been issued gloves and hand sanitizer.

ServePro of Jamestown/Olean recently provided a thorough cleaning of the police department, Snellings said. Eddie Sundquist, Jamestown mayor, said the service was provided free of charge.

Coon also presented a report to the council about how three firefighters who were training at the state Academy of Fire Science and Fire Science Library in Montour Falls, N.Y., are continuing their training locally in the city. He said the fire academy was closed after the virus outbreak, with three firefighters now training in-house. He added that the hands-on training being done at city fire stations has been useful for the rookie firefighters.

In other news, the West Seventh Street resident destroyed by fire last week has been boarded up to keep people out. Crystal Surdyk, city development director, gave a report on the remains of the house fire that displaced 10 tenants and killed several pets.

Surdyk said city officials had to board up the former residence to keep people out of the unsafe structure. She said city officials are working with the owner to demolish the former multi-apartment structure as quickly as possible. She added that once the owner gets authorization from his insurance company, city officials will issue an emergency demolition order to knockdown what is left of the structure.

Coon said the fire was accidental, noting that one of the tenants tried to put the fire out on their own before calling 911.