Matt RiegerĀ doesĀ notĀ view hisĀ communityĀ service asĀ something special.Ā He serves on the local fire department and volunteers as a first responder. Doing good in his communityĀ is just what he does.
So, when the hospitalĀ inĀ Riegerās rural Kansas county faced an N95 mask shortage at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rieger was quick to lend a helping hand. Rieger worked with the hospital to decontaminate N95 masks, curing them in aĀ Performer XD Paint BoothĀ from Global Finishing Solutions (GFS) at his automotive body shop.
āTheĀ hospitalĀ wasĀ worried about running out of N95 masks,ā said Rieger, the owner ofĀ Rieger CollisionĀ in Corning, Kansas.Ā āMy momĀ works at the hospital, and sheĀ knew I couldĀ cureĀ at prettyĀ high temperaturesĀ in theĀ paint booth.ā
Corning is aĀ smallĀ farming town in northeastern Kansas, with aĀ population of less than 200Ā āĀ the type of placeĀ that would be hard toĀ find on a map if youĀ didĀ notĀ know exactly where to look. The family-oriented feel is why Rieger is proud to call Corning home. It is a communityĀ of people who have each otherās backs, with a willingness to help that stretchesĀ as long asĀ a country road.
Since 2007, Rieger has performed traditional collision repair,Ā mainly theĀ result of minorĀ fenderĀ benders andĀ residents hitting deer.Ā With COVID-19 cases steadily increasing,Ā RiegerĀ (and his mom)Ā recognized aĀ new use for his 2-year-old paint booth.Ā He began working withĀ the local hospitalĀ to sterilizeĀ N95 masks so they could be reused,Ā if necessary.
To ensure theĀ N95Ā masks did not degradeĀ while in the Performer XD Paint Booth on the cure cycle, ReigerĀ conductedĀ aĀ test run, placingĀ temperatureĀ probesĀ inĀ the boothĀ toĀ verifyĀ evenĀ heatĀ distribution.
āTheĀ hospitalĀ needsĀ to cure the masks at 155 degreesĀ FahrenheitĀ for 30 minutes, whichĀ isĀ easy for us to accomplish in the PerformerĀ booth,ā Rieger said.
If a second wave of COVID-19Ā causesĀ an N95 mask shortage,Ā ReigerĀ plans to build a rack to hold the masks in the booth. He hasĀ already arranged a donation of closet rods from a lumberyard.
āWe could be up and ready to go pretty muchĀ atĀ the drop of a hat,ā Rieger said. āYou could stack a whole bunch of masks in the booth, and a booth cycleĀ costsĀ hardly anything.ā
For Rieger, volunteering his timeĀ āĀ andĀ theĀ useĀ of his paint booth and body shopĀ āĀ for a worthy cause was a no-brainer.
āIĀ try to help out any wayĀ IĀ can,ā Rieger said. āI donāt think I am doing anything extraordinary.Ā ItĀ isĀ always a good feelingĀ whenĀ you can helpĀ somebody.ā