Public safety issues in O’Fallon change during coronavirus pandemic

As the stay-at-home order in the state has been extended to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Police Chief Eric Van Hook, director of public safety in O’Fallon, says he is seeing more residents adhering to the mandates.

“In general, we see our citizens comply with the order. Some of our grocery stores were getting busy but they have taken measures to limit the number of people inside at a time,” Van Hook said.

With more people off the road, there are less car accidents and criminal activity.

“Most people are staying home, so crime in general has been down,” he said.

Fire Chief Brad White urged people to take the quarantine seriously for the protection of first responders and others.

“It’s best to stay home. We will save lives by being off the streets. There are less incidents and less chances for us to be exposed, so it is good for our safety,” he said.

A problem that has occurred is the rise in open burning of yard waste.

“Over the last two weeks, over half of the department’s responses were to controlled burns that got out of control or controlled burns that produced enough smoke whereby other residents called to report suspected brush fires or house fires,” White said.

“During this ongoing pandemic, the O’Fallon Fire Department is requesting all residents serviced by the department to cease the open burning of yard waste,” he said. “My goal is to limit the number of unnecessary responses by O’Fallon Fire Department’s volunteer firefighters during this pandemic.”

White is reminding residents living within O’Fallon city limits of the existing ordinance that precludes the open burning of yard waste year-round. Residents in Shiloh are currently under a village-imposed temporary ban on open burning of yard waste.

“Although not currently banned from burning, I’d ask those residents who live within St. Clair County jurisdiction to also refrain from burning,” he said. “BBQ grills and recreational burn pits are still approved. Remember fire safety and keep these items 15 feet from your home.”

White said they’ve changed their shift work model during this time. They draw from 51 volunteer firefighters. If some of them are currently out of work, they are putting the unemployed into the day or evening rotation — using four-six firefighters each shift.

“That helps them offset their financial burden,” he said.

It also helps keep people at home and less exposed.

O’Fallon PD keeping a watchful eye

Van Hook said his staff has been adhering to all the safe practices to stay out of harm’s way.

“Our officers are taking precautions on and off duty to ensure they remain healthy. Fortunately, we have a great community that is staying home and doing the right thing,” he said.

White said making everyone understand the importance of protecting each other has been a challenge because people underestimated the impact of coronavirus They might not know anyone who has symptoms or believe social distancing will prevent escalation of it, because they can’t see it. But the efforts to get the word out continue.

Dr. Alex Garza, the head of the Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force (Mercy, SSM, BJC and St. Luke’s health care systems), warned a surge will be coming in the next 10 days to two weeks in the St. Louis/metro-east region. COVID-19 cases in southwestern Illinois have surpassed 200. There are 10,000 deaths now in the U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control is now recommending people wear masks to cover their mouths and noses when leaving their homes. The U.S. Surgeon General is pleading people follow “1. Mitigation 2. Social Distancing and 3. Good hygiene.”

“I am seeing more and more people wearing masks when in public. It is now recommended to wear some type of mask or scarf when you are in public areas and social distancing is challenging,” Van Hook said.

He shared a youtube.com link for a no-sew mask option that is easy to make: https://youtu.be/1r2C1zGUHbU.

“Just remember to wash it at least daily. The rules of fighting this virus seem to change on a daily basis, so we will do our best to keep you updated,” he said.

Van Hook said police have been monitoring the city’s 11 parks during the quarantine, especially after stricter measures were taken March 31, shutting down activities in the parks except for walking and jogging.

“Although we have had a few groups congregating on fields, the vast majority of people are out exercising and adhering to the social distancing requirements,” he said. “O’Fallon parks will remain open, but proper social distancing must be maintained at all times.”

Components of park shutdown to ensure social distancing

A new order closed all basketball courts, pavilions, playgrounds, restrooms, batting cages, the skatepark, Sports Park baseball fields, and Blazier field (Community Park field #1) because of too many people violating the mandates for no more than 10 people gathering at a time and social distancing of keeping apart 6 feet.

Mayor Herb Roach consulted with other mayors and St. Clair County officials before issuing the order, and observed the city parks, visiting more than 25 times.

“Continuation of close contact is not in compliance with the executive order and could cause a major breakout in the local area —which could potentially overwhelm the local healthcare system. Several local cities have locked down their parks completely and others have taken lesser action,” Roach said. “We must all do our part to ‘flatten the curve’ and by allowing for these large gatherings in our parks to continue, we were failing to do so.”

Roach issued another warning for churchgoers and people ignoring social distances for parties.

“I have also had questions raised about drive-by or drive-in services at churches, and about large groups of cars forming parades for different functions. We have checked with the St. Clair County, state of Illinois, and Illinois State Police, and they all state that this would not be in compliance with the spirit of the Governor’s stay-at-home order. Your cooperation with this is appreciated,” Roach said. “I can tell you that our top priority is the safety and well-being of all our citizens.”

Local businesses giving back to police, fire, EMS

During these unprecedented and stressful times, local businesses have been providing acts of kindness to the police, fire and EMS workers.

“Our first responders have been on the receiving end of some incredibly kind words and gestures of support from our community members, businesses and schools. We are extremely grateful for the support,” Van Hook said.

“We’ve received several nice gestures. A special thank you to all the local restaurants who have donated or offered discounts to O’Fallon first responders during the ongoing pandemic,” White said.

Stumpy’s Distillery in Columbia manufactured and donated 100’s of bottles of hand sanitizer to area first responders, White said, noting O’Fallon received two cases of much needed sanitizer.

“Please help keep your volunteer firefighters safe. We’re all in This together,” White said.

“I hope everybody is staying positive,” Van Hook said.

This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 3:25 PM.