# Fire official advocates motorcycle medic teams



## MMiz (Jan 23, 2005)

*Fire official advocates motorcycle medic teams*

RICHMOND — A motorist having a heart attack while stuck in traffic in the Midtown Tunnel could have a long wait for an ambulance.

Portsmouth emergency officials think they have a solution: medics on motorcycles.

City leaders are seeking permission from the General Assembly this year to start a “motor medic” team. A Senate panel endorsed the idea Thursday, and the full Senate will vote on the legislation next week.

“It just makes so much sense, you wonder why we haven’t been doing it for a long time,” said Sen. Marty E. Williams, R-Newport News, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. 

*Read More!*

*Read the EMTLife.com Motorcycle-EMS Thread!*


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## SafetyPro2 (Jan 24, 2005)

The Daytona Beach Fire Department runs a program like that. The motor medics respond (as a pair) as a first-responder unit and are followed by an ambulance. They carry an amazing amount of gear...I believe one bike carries a defib/monitor and ALS kit and the other carries O2, airway and trauma gear. They're not only used for heavy-traffic situations, but also for the Bike Week and Speed Week festivities. And to top it off, the bikes are Harleys (and darn good looking). They have a description of their Motor-Medic Program on their website that includes some pics.

This type of program is also quite common in Europe from what I've seen.

We don't have any similar programs around here that I'm aware of, but the City of Pasadena does have a bicycle Paramedic program that they use for special events such as the Rose Parade and games at the Rose Bowl (the Bowl game itself, UCLA football, L.A. Galaxy soccer, the World Cup, the Super Bowl, etc.)


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## rescuecpt (Jan 24, 2005)

So we're going to send organ donors to pick up organ donors?


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## coloradoemt (Jan 24, 2005)

> _Originally posted by rescuecpt_@Jan 24 2005, 09:42 AM
> * So we're going to send organ donors to pick up organ donors? *


 Thats freekin hilarious!!!!!  :lol: 

I had two motocross calls this weekend so your statement made me laugh outloud!!


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## MMiz (Jan 25, 2005)

I hate to say it, but I was thinking the same thing.

Im sure everyone has heard of "Donorcycles", but that's what we all call them.  Motorcyclists provide job security


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## Luno (Jan 25, 2005)

Wow, for people who "bravely" run into burning buildings, who though you would all be scared of a little combustion between two wheels.  I think this is a great idea for rural areas.  I've heard of other areas running a 4x4  with on medic and with an ambulance chasing, and some places also run an enduro style bike in place of the 4x4.


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## rescuecpt (Jan 25, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Luno_@Jan 25 2005, 05:01 PM
> * Wow, for people who "bravely" run into burning buildings, who though you would all be scared of a little combustion between two wheels.  I think this is a great idea for rural areas.  I've heard of other areas running a 4x4  with on medic and with an ambulance chasing, and some places also run an enduro style bike in place of the 4x4.    *


 I'm not scared of a little combustion between two wheels.  I just have images burned into my scull of the man and his girlfriend who were going too fast, skidded, hit a phone pole, and left an arm here, a leg there, and most of a head about 25 feet down the road (and yes, they had helmets on).  There was nothing that could be done for them.

Then there was the guy who had a minor wipeout - and ended up ripping the ball of his ankle out.  10mgs of morphine and he was still screaming all the way to the trauma center.  If you looked at the inside of his foot, there was a HOLE about 3 inches in diameter where the bony part of his ankle should be.

There was a lucky one - who hit the guard rail and slid along it for 50 feet or so... just a concussion and nasty road rash over 80% of his body.  Luckily he stayed on the street side of the guard rail, because there was a 30 foot drop on the other side.


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## ffemt8978 (Jan 26, 2005)

Or the one where I deputy I knew stopped to remove what he thought was a deer roadkill from the interstate.  Turned out to be a guy on a motorcycle that had been drug underneath a semi for a quarter mile (that's how long the blood trail was).  The biggest piece he found was a thumb before he realized it wasn't a deer.


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## SafetyPro2 (Jan 26, 2005)

The only fatal TC I've been on was a single-vehicle motorcycle (during my EMT training). Guy hit the center guardrail on a more or less residential street and was thrown a good 50 yards. We worked him up, but he didn't make it. First PT I ever did chest compressions on.


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## MMiz (Jan 27, 2005)

My second day of clinical rotations for my EMT Training I was working in the ED.  It rained a bit, and in came two separate motorcycle incidents.

I know my limited experience in the ED can't really provide the same size needed to make a real judgement on the overall safety of motorcycles, but I know I wouldn't want to be on one in Michigan weather.


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