INSIDE EDITION got a look at the process to decontaminate the Dallas ambulance #37 which carried an Ebola patient to the hospital.
How do you decontaminate an ambulance that has transported an Ebola patient to the hospital? With great care.
Sal Pain is a foreman with Bio-Recovery Corp. He told INSIDE EDITION, "It is scary. The guys that are dealing with this right now, my heart is with them and their families. I worry for them."
INSIDE EDITION was given an exclusive look at the decontamination process with an ambulance similar to the Ebola ambulance in Dallas that is now under quarantine.
Pain said, "Our crews in Texas are doing the same exact thing."
An ambulance on Long Island, New York, was contaminated when it transported a dead man and bodily fluids leaked out. Ebola was not a factor in the death, but the process is about the same.
Workers don white hazmat suits lined with rubber and use up to five sets of gloves. They are also equipped with special masks.
Workers use a special fogger which releases a heated chemical inside the vehicle. The substance is a hospital grade sanitizer called Microban which is also effective against the Ebola virus.
Pain said, "It will kill virtually anything. It will definitely kill Ebola."
They spray all surface areas by hand with the chemical.
He said, "Every square inch. We can't miss a spot. Underneath every cushion, underneath all the panels. Open up all cabinets. Everything has to be wiped down."
Next, comes a $10,000 machine called The AirZone XT-14,000, nicknamed “The Ozonator.” It uses ozone to neutralize any remaining bacteria. Workers seal every opening with duct tape and the machine is left inside for six hours.
Pain said, "It is actually going to put out ozone in the air, which will kill any types of bacteria, pathogens, including Ebola."
At the end, you hopefully have one very clean ambulance.
