As of last week, 270 union firefighters in Illinois had been affected by the coronavirus with 84 of them testing positive and in isolation.

Streator firefighters, along with several others across the state, have put several measures in place to protect themselves, as well as those they’re helping, when responding to a call.

"Your Streator Firefighters are the backbone of the city’s public health and safety system," wrote Kurt Snow, president of the Streator Fire Fighters Local 56. "When someone has a medical emergency, a fire breaks out, a car catches on fire: we are there to help. We took an oath to protect our community and are living up to it, even when we don’t know what personal danger we are putting ourselves and our families in at the end of the day."

He added: " … We will continue to fight this virus every day and put the public’s safety and health first. We will get through these difficult times and come out #StreatorStrong."