Two Elizabethtown firefighters were recently bitten by brown recluse spiders resulting in the station house being temporarily closed.
The firefighters were bitten at Elizabethtown Fire Station No. 3 in the 1800 block of Ring Road. One of the firefighters who was bitten killed the spider and discovered it was a brown recluse, whose bite can “destroy skin and blood vessels. This causes the skin around the bite to die, which is called necrosis,” according Medlineplus.gov.
The two firefighters were treated at WorkWell Occupational Health and are doing well, according to The News-Enterprise.
Upon further investigation, an infestation of brown recluses was discovered at the fire station. The firefighters at Fire Station No. 3 were then moved to Fire Station No. 1 in the 300 block of Ring Road while the impacted fire station was treated by exterminators.
Firefighters are expected to return to Fire Station No. 3 on Thursday.
(Photo: Brown recluse spider, courtesy of Texas A&M University)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
