Colorado fire department says it’s developed a way to sterilize, reuse N95 masks amid shortage
![N95 mask UV box](https://krdo.b-cdn.net/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.19.01-PM-Cropped-860x484.png)
SOUTH FORK, Colo. (KRDO) -- N95 masks are ideally single-use, which contributes to the shortage felt by first responders amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That's why one southern Colorado fire department sought out a way to extend the life of each mask.
South Fork Fire Rescue in the San Luis Valley says it's developed a way to safely reuse a mask up to 10 times.
"This UVC Chamber allows the use of an N95 to be extended to 10 times vs a single-use," said Captain Tyler Schmidt with SFFR in a Facebook post. "It doesn't cure the current shortage being experienced during the COVID-19 Pandemic, but it will help us stretch our masks a little longer until the factories can keep up with demand."
Schmidt posted a video explaining how to build the UV light chamber and the department's calculations.
Schmidt also provided a calculation worksheet. He says the numbers suggest an N95 mask will survive about 10 "cook times" of about 10 minutes each before beginning to degrade.
![](https://krdo.b-cdn.net/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-2.06.46-PM.png)
Schmidt says the San Luis Valley hasn't seen the surge in cases that the Front Range has yet, but they're gearing up for it.
"We're anticipating the need for a sterilization process," he said. "We've transported three COVID-19 patients ourselves [so far]."
See here for more information and to download the instructions and calculations.
Have more questions? You can email captain@southforkfirerescue.com.