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PHOTOS: Crews from local construction company don protective gear to clean out first responder vehicles

Clad in full hazmat suits, employees of 3R’s Construction spray an antiviral disinfectant into the interior of a car from the Aumsville Police Department on Thursday. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)

The COVID-19 outbreak has kept first responders in Salem very busy. It’s also meant their vehicles need to be disinfected to prevent the spread of the virus that 1,321 people in Oregon have tested positive for as of the last count.

On Thursday, Salem’s Morning Star Community Church opened up its parking lot to provide free disinfectant services by local construction company 3R’s Construction to vehicles from local fire departments, ambulance services and law enforcement agencies.

Duane West, the company’s CEO, said that the company has used the EPA-approved disinfectant for jobs that involve cleaning out mold and water damage. Employees of the company offered the service for free to local first responders and West said it was a way to be proactive in responding to the public health crisis.

Clad in full hazmat suits, the employees spent the day misting the interior of vehicles with the disinfectant. West estimated that the company serviced close to 100.

Employees of 3R’s Construction Company spray a hospital-grade approved disinfectant into the interior of a vehicle from the Aumsville Police Department Thursday. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)

An employee of 3R’s Construction adjusts a respirator mask Thursday while helping with the company’s free disinfection of first responder vehicles. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)

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Photographer Ron Cooper and his wife Penny moved to Salem in 1969 to take a job as photographer at the Oregon Statesman (later the Statesman Journal). Their three children, Monica, Kimberly, and Christopher, attended and graduated from Salem public schools. Cooper retired from the Statesman Journal in 2001 but, has continued his passion for photography in many ways, including as a photographer for the Salem Reporter.