COVID-19

Orient firehouse closed to non-emergencies after members were exposed to COVID-19

A dozen Orient Fire Department members or associates were exposed to COVID-19 at the district’s budget hearing Tuesday, the district confirmed in an email Friday afternoon.

As a result, the firehouse is closed with the exception of emergency calls by order of the chief. The district said the exposure has no connection to an emergency call or training and will not interrupt service.

The district said Saturday morning that all testing to date has come back negative and that each of the exposed members and associates will be tested. They are also following state and county guidelines, including a 14-day quarantine, according to the district.

All district buildings and vehicles have also been sanitized.

The Suffolk County and New York State Department of Health have both been notified of the exposure.

The news comes on the same day the North Fork Country Club and Suffolk County Department of Health officials confirmed multiple staff members at the catering facility and guests at a recent wedding hosted there have tested positive for COVID-19. The fire department did not confirm if the exposure at Tuesday’s meeting was related to the wedding held Saturday.