Published: May 16, 2008 12:31 am            

TOWN OF TONAWANDA: Help on two wheels

With three emergency response vehicles, there aren’t many places town paramedics can’t go.

But at crowded outdoor events and along bike paths, the SUVs aren’t maneuverable enough to deliver a fast response. That’s why town paramedics started a bike program last summer, to help them get into tight spots and quickly administer first aid, said Operations Supervisor Tom Scime.

“Up until now this has only been used for specific events,” Scime said. “Now we can be out on the bike paths and be more visible at areas like Aqua Lane and Isle View parks.”

Paramedics Mike Botham and Mike Baumgartner worked to get the program off the ground with a little help from other local first responder groups. Twin City Ambulance donated the two bikes for the paramedics to use and the town’s James Ryan Foundation is helping to equip them.

One of the bikes is set up with basic first aid and life support necessities and the other has more advanced equipment. Together the two bikes carry blood pressure monitors, intubation equipment, IVs, certain medications, an oxygen delivery system and an AED portable defibrillator, Botham said.

“It was trial by error,” Botham said. “We started out with too much stuff on the bikes then we trimmed it down to what would be most effective.”

In addition to being in the right place to treat bumps and bruises at events like the upcoming Memorial Day Parade, the bikes allow paramedics to interact with the public in a way they couldn’t before. Being able to talk to kids and set a positive example by wearing helmets and other proper safety gear while on their bikes connects the life savers to the community they serve, Baumgartner said.

“Now they’re not just seeing us when their grandma or grandpa is ill,” Baumgartner said.

Using the bikes for paramedic purposes took some training, but after some lessons with Cheektowaga police the medics were handling the bikes just fine in densely occupied areas. Weaving in and out of crowds on two wheels lets paramedics act as an extra arm of assistance for the department, like when a lost child call went out at last year’s Memorial Day parade. The bike team was able to navigate the crowd with ease and find the child before other cruisers, Baumgartner said.

In areas like the bike paths, where police patrols are less frequent, the more regular paramedic rounds will also provide a law enforcement presence that could discourage wrong doing, Scime said.

“They’ll be another set of eyes out there and can call patrols over,” Scime said. “In a sense they can proactively prevent crime.”

The Ryan Foundation will be helping with new uniforms for the biking rescuers. Lighter fabrics for shirts will make them more breathable and increase visibility, while pants that zip off at the knee will provide versatility for those using the bikes on days when the weather starts off cool and warms throughout the day, Botham said.

The foundation has also helped make up the difference left when other paramedic uniforms and equipment were purchased with a $16,000 Homeland Security grant.

“We got the grant because we’re in what is considered a high threat zone with all of our industrial facilities,” Scime said.

Helmets with head set radios allow rescuers to communicate while using both hands to treat patients. New coats will allow the paramedics to enter vehicles while other first responders are breaking glass and cutting off the roof or doors. That wasn’t possible before, Scime said.

“These new coats are blood-borne pathogen and fluid resistant,” Scime said. “Before we couldn’t be inside the vehicles because it posed a risk, but now we can be in there doing what we need to do to save a life.”

Contact reporter Daniel Pyeat 693-1000, ext. 158.

        

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