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ALBERTVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The Albertville Fire Department says it’s been hit especially hard by the spread of the Omicron variant.

Deputy Chief Brent Ennis tells News 19 that as of Friday, 11 members are out with COVID-19, most with minor symptoms.

The good news is the department says there haven’t been any delays in response times for Albertville residents. Ennis says other departments dealt with similar issues the last couple weeks – but his department now has to implement extra measures when responding to calls of people reporting COVID-19 symptoms.

“It’s concerning,” Ennis said. “Our overtime budget has been hit hard. Of course, some of the guys are working 48 hours, going home for 24, [and] coming back again. It’s getting taxing on those too.”

Ennis added that thankfully no calls of large structure fires have come in recently, but if they do, other local fire departments have committed to offering assistance.