Fighting the flu: Device could help stop the spread of germs

BRAINTREE, Mass. — A spike in sick calls involving the flu had an ambulance company looking for a quick cure. Brewster Ambulance teamed up with a company with a unique tool that they say helped them clean their equipment within minutes.

Brewster Ambulance usually responds to sick calls, but recently their staff had a spike of their own.

"Cases of the flu, general chest congestion which was impacting our workforce," said Chris DiBona, BAS.

>> Everything you need to know about the 2018-2019 flu season

The ambulance went from the average handful of sick calls a day to 20 a day. So they teamed up with the Braintree company that makes EvaClean, a touchless disinfection system now being used by a variety of places like day cares and schools.

"Battery powered, and it just fills up with regular tap water," said DiBona.

The mist not only cleans the surface area, but the company also says it gets into areas you can't get just by wiping it down.

"The cleaning that actually gets done in a classroom only covers 15-20 percent of the surface that kids can actually touch. And that is the problem. And it's not just schools. It's everywhere," said Jeremiah Gray, COO EarthSafe Chemical Alternatives.

So, a lot of people don't know how dirty surfaces are. When they tested Boston 25 News reporter Robert Goulston's phone, the results were surprising.

"We are going to swab the back of your phone here," said Chris Romagnolo, Vice President of EarthSafe Chemical Alternatives. "And open our luminometer and drop it in there and get a reading. We came back at 444 relative light units... which is bad. You want to stay below 150."

After spraying the same phone with the EvaClean, the new test results came back well under the 150 mark.

"Much more thorough and faster, which I think is the holy grail that people are looking for in this industry," said Gray.

Brewster Ambulance says it has been using EvaClean for a week and their sick calls have already dropped considerably and they say that is helping keep their fleet at full force as flu season ramps up.

"We want to make sure we have as many vehicles out there for a response," said DiBona.

Cox Media Group