Lower Greenville Residents React To Ebola Hazmat Crews
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A hazardous materials crew began decontaminating the residence of a Dallas woman Sunday afternoon who's the first known person to have contracted Ebola in the U.S.
Brad Smith with Fort Worth-based CG Environmental — Cleaning Guys says a crew of about 15 started scrubbing the exterior of the apartment building where the unidentified health care worker lives. It's the same company that decontaminated the apartment of the first victim, more than a week ago.
"I'm speechless. I don't know what my thoughts were. I knew we had to react and gear up and do it again," said Smith. They also sprayed down sidewalks in front of her lower Greenville apartment. The cleanup will take at least two days.
The Ebola warning roused many neighbors from their beds.
"This morning when the cops knocked on our door we went to look outside and that's when we saw it," said resident Chelsea Esposito. "I was just scared -- freaked out -- that someone in the building next door is confirmed to have Ebola.
Common areas in the affected complex were decontaminated in the pre-dawn hours. A bio-hazard barrel sat in the front yard all day while hazmat crews awaited a decision on what to do with its contents.
City workers, police, and firefighters went door-to-door delivering informational fliers in both English and Spanish. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings appeared to reassure residents of their safety. Still, neighbors are uneasy.
"It's very creepy, it's nerve-wracking," one resident told CBS 11 News. "It's kind of crazy that we thought they were completely protected taking care of this person and then they still got it, so it's kind of scary. But I think they'll get it under control."
The big concern is wondering how a nurse with all the protective gear developed Ebola anyway. She had helped treat Thomas Eric Duncan prior to his death Wednesday from Ebola at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Duncan, a Liberian man, became ill while visiting family in Dallas.
Smith says he expects to begin work inside the apartment building Monday.
His company previously decontaminated the Dallas apartment where Duncan stayed prior to his hospitalization and also cleaned parts of Texas Health Presbyterian where Duncan was treated.
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Latest News:
Top Trending:
