WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — On Friday, emergency officials and the Mayor of Wilkes-Barre shared a moment of mutual gratitude with the folks who work at Ocean State Job Lot in the city.
People from the store presented the city's first responders with a gift.
"We are thrilled to be able to once again, donate the important PPE supplies that you guys need to be out there every day helping take care of people in this time of need," said Mia Mclean, the store's team leader to Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown.
"You've been a wonderful partner to the city of Wilkes-Barre ever since you opened up your doors," replied Brown. "And you can see here folks. $12,000 worth of PPE donated so that our police, our fire, EMS operators can do their job in a safe manner. So from the city, the mayor of the city, thank you."
"PPE is the lifeline for firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, and our first responders. Without this, we can't respond. We need to keep our crews healthy, so they can respond to COVID calls. So, this is just what the doctor ordered," said Fire Chief Jay Delaney.
"Two cases of KN95 masks. 240 face shields. 96- 20 packs a hand wipes 40 packs of wipes and 100 packs of wipes," said Mclean while listing some of the donated items.
This is the third time Ocean State has donated PPE to first responders in the city and first responders say it is really needed because they go through this faster than you think.
"When we respond to, fire department responds on calls we've probably done about 8,000 since COVID started, and we're required to mask patients before we bring them into the hospital so they're used on our patients but they're used on our own crews also," explained Delaney.
City officials say they are lucky to have this kind of community support as they continue to tackle the on-going pandemic.