WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A record 2,100 calls for assistance were received by D.C. Fire and EMS on Tuesday as 1.8 million people descended on the city to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama..
The majority of calls handled by local personnel and crews from surrounding jurisdictions including Maryland and Virginia as well as some recruited by FEMA involved exposure issues as the temperatures never budged out of the 20s.
Several people were treated in a Metro station after they complained of chest pains and shortness of breath after being forced to walk up escalators that failed.
There were no major incidents on Inauguration Day. Sen. Ted Kennedy, who suffered a seizure during the Presidential luncheon, was transported to Washington Hospital Center.
A woman suffered a shoulder injury after falling onto a Metro rail track. A Houston Transit officer is credited with saving her.
Having the right equipment and crews at the ready paid off Saturday for a person attending the concert on the Mall, said Dr. James Augustine, the fire department medical director.
"The first call was for a cardiac arrest. It was a save. The combination of CPR and an AED made the difference," he said.
On Tuesday long before dawn, officials were forced to adjust plans to handle an onslaught of calls that came in before crews were credentialed and units cleared.
They had planned to have the mutual aid crews in place to handle incidents involving the visitors. But, the calls started coming in hours earlier.
That left D.C. crews responding. They quickly found out that the Secret Service checkpoints were up and running. Units were stopped to be checked, and personnel cleared before entering certain areas.
Thousands of visitors hung around the area through the frigid night while others left bars, and headed straight to the Mall.
There were at least 50,000 people in the area before 8 a.m.
"We modified on the fly," Augustine said with a laugh. "There was a lot of cooperation under extreme circumstances."
In addition to bombarding the system with calls for help, the crowds prevented volunteers from getting to the aid tents set up throughout the city.
It didn't take long for officers in the fire department's command center to realize the tents were not staffed. "What was important that we modify what we were doing to make sure someone was taking care of patients," explained Augustine, the department's medical director.
All but one of the 40 tents was eventually opened, and staffed.
When the plans changed, the safety of the EMS crews also concerned officials. They had positioned personnel on Gators near the aid tents. The idea was for them to get off, and stay warm between runs.
But, those breaks never came. They were constantly attempting to weave through the crowds to get to patients.
Getting units around downtown anywhere was almost impossible. Lights and sirens were ignored by the masses as they headed toward the Mall.
A military crew moved aside when a throng of people started marching toward them. The once closed street quickly filled with pedestrians.
One crew who assisted with a cardiac arrest patient returned to find people on top of their engine. Police were called to help get the people off and the rig out of the area.
Deputy Chief of Operations Larry Schultz, who headed inauguration command, said he was pleased with how things went. "It certainly was challenging for all of us at times. But we adapted."
Schultz said Inauguration Day started much earlier than planned. When the crowds started gathering hours before anyone anticipated, he realized that the best laid plans were about to change.
Dispatchers transferred calls for help from the Mall area to the EMS branch office set up at the command center in Engine 2. Personnel getting the information jotted it down, and held up papers with the details. "I have a woman down near the Washington Monument," one man said as he waved his slip.
After checking with staging officers, another commander would give the word for a crew to be dispatched.
Augustine said plans called for as much face-to-face interaction as possible in the field. "I've learned at other events in my career that's its so much better when you give someone an assignment in person. In addition to lessening the chance of confusion, it also cuts down on radio traffic..."
Augustine said the exact number of patients seen will probably never be known. While documentation is required for a person transported to a medical facility, it is not for simple treatment.
He said those in the aid tents did the best they could to document, but were overwhelmed by the number of people who showed up.
Schultz said there will be a critique or after action meeting next week. "I've been getting e-mails from chiefs around the country who were monitoring what we were doing. They said they were impressed."
During the operation, Schultz kept tabs on every aspect of the function. He was constantly checking in with his command staff for updates on logistics, traffic, staging, EMS and safety.
Change and adapt were the rules of the day. There was no time to dally, just relay the information and prepare to adjust accordingly.
Schultz said the operation went as well as it did because of those involved. "There were a lot of people who made this work. There were no major incidents. We were all just extraordinarily busy all day."
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