Twin “W” and the Papal Visit Stand-By
by Chris Polgar
Twin “W” EMS (NJ)
When the Philadelphia Fire Department (PFD) reached out to Twin “W” to help out with the Papal Visit Stand-By, I was excited! I had no idea how they found me [it was through IPMBA] but I’m glad they did. Twin “W” changed its operational status to “inactive” when the West Windsor Township chose to no longer unitize Twin “W” for township coverage. I started the bike team in 2014 and this was my chance to continue it.
Because of the inactive status, there were a lot of challenges to fulfilling Philadelphia Fire Department’s request. First was the staffing, then finding the medical supplies, and finally obtaining a new auto insurance policy for our responder vehicle to transport all the equipment and bikes from the squad house to Philadelphia.
I knew that we had to partner with another organization to keep our EMS Bike Patrol operational. I met with Tom Yohnnson, Chief of Burlington County K-9 Search and Rescue Team. Chief Yohnnson thought that our EMS Bike Patrol would be an outstanding addition to his company and agreed to insure our vehicle.
Unfortunately, timing did not work out in our favor, but Chief Yohnnson was able to find an alternative way to transport the equipment, personnel, and bikes to Philadelphia.
As a result, Twin “W” was able to deploy two IPMBA certified EMS Cyclists (one Paramedic and one EMT) to the event. We also were able to provide medical supplies. I later learned that we did not have to supply anything more than personnel and uniforms. Philadelphia Fire Department was providing the bikes and medical supplies.
When we arrived in Philadelphia, we met with other EMS departments, chose our bikes, and then were briefed by two PFD Lieutenants. After being cleared by the Secret Service, we were given a tour of the area we would be patrolling as well as “EMS 1”, which was the main EMS hub station and mobile Emergency Room. The ER and pharmacy were staffed with 100% volunteer personnel. It was impressive.
Our first day patrolling was in “Secure 1”, which was the closest to the Pope’s stage on the parkway. Each sector was small but held a very large number of people. Each person coming into that area had a ticket for a seat. This made the section well organized and easy to maneuver in and around. We worked 14 hours on the first day. Half the day was spent on the bikes and the other half was spent on foot in the VIP stage next to the Pope. It was an amazing experience to be so close to the Pope as well as other celebrities that performed on stage, such as Aretha Franklin and Mark Wahlberg. We used our panniers as our jump bags for the VIP stage. We each carried the essential BLS equipment, including oxygen and AED. Nearby were motorized ALS carts and golf carts if we needed them.
On the second day, we worked 12 hours in “Secure 3”. It was significantly further away from the stage on the parkway. These were the “cheap seats”; people brought their own chairs or got comfortable “picnic style”, settling in anywhere they could. The area was extremely crowded. We put our slow riding skills to the test, maneuvering through crowds of people who were not paying attention to their surroundings.
I was impressed with how the EMS calls were handled. Information was given via radio to EMS 1, which then assigned the call to the appropriate EMS sector. The EMS sector then assigned the job to either a motorized cart, bike unit, or foot patrol.
Despite the high call volume and number of patients treated, our bike team only had a few dispatches but did not treat any patients. The patient was either gone on arrival or was intercepted by an EMS motor cart.
We slept in the Philadelphia Convention Center on cots supplied by the American Red Cross. We showered in shower trailers. The showers were surprisingly nice, and even had hot water. Wawa donated four meals per day.
After the event, Philadelphia Fire Department gifted each EMS Cyclist with the bike, panniers, equipment (excluding the oxygen tank and AED), and a challenge coin. I felt that gesture was very generous of PFD. Our new bikes increased my department’s fleet from four to six EMS bikes.
The clientele at the event was very different then the typical arena crowd. Everybody was polite and appreciated the work we did. A few even helped with crowd control. This by far was the largest event I have participated in during my eleven-year EMS career. This might even be the largest event of my career. It certainly is likely to be the most historical!
Christopher Polgar, NREMT-P, MICP, is the Captain of the Twin “W” First Aid Squad in West Windsor, New Jersey. He founded the bike squad and has attended the IPMBA EMS Cyclist and EMSC Cyclist II Courses. Despite having been shut down by the town in favor of a paid department, Chris continues to operate the Twin “W” First Aid Squad’s EMS Bike Team. He can be reached at chris.polgar@twinw.org.
(c) 2016 IPMBA. This article appeared in the Winter 2016 issue of IPMBA News.