During this “Shelter at Home” period in Greene and Christian Counties, St. Louis, Kansas City, and many other places, two employees of the Missouri State University Libraries are using 3D printers at home to make plastic parts to help protect the personnel of the Springfield Fire Department as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Tyler Drenon from the MSU Libraries Innovation Lab, and Shannon Mawhiney, head of the Libraries’ Digitization Lab, are using files and information provided by CoxHealth and JVIC, the Jordan Valley Innovation Center, to build plastic parts to make Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which are in short supply locally. 

As the Fire Department’s website states, “Springfield firefighters are first responders to most medical calls. In most cases, fire engines are able to arrive more quickly than an ambulance. All Springfield firefighters are licensed as EMT-B providers. This means they are able to provide basic life support until an ambulance arrives.”