Get ready for the Games!

Salt Lake City
GER 12 16 7 35
USA 10 13 11 34
NOR 11 7 6 24
CAN 6 3 8 17
RUS 6 6 4 16
AUT 2 4 10 16
ITA 4 4 4 12
FRA 4 5 2 11
SUI 3 2 6 11
NED 3 5 0 8

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Paramedics ready to respond

Ed Yeates
KSL-TV

      Downtown, Salt Lake City's EMT's are using bicycles to reach people in the heart of the crowd. Ed Yeates reports.
      The Salt Lake City fire department has been preparing for these Olympics for a long time. If you haven't seen how these EMTs move through a crowd on their bicycles - watch this!
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      Pick any day with the crowds, when snow is falling or when it's not. If you hear a bell and see a flashing red light, move aside, because these are the fire department's miniature ambulances.
      Captain Ginger Bearclaw explains, "We're mobile and we can get around and maneuver through the crowds, where we don't have that capability in a large class A fire engine pumper."
      The bikes carry everything you would find on a fire truck - defibs for heart attacks, oxygen bottles, cervical collars, and more. If necessary, the two wheeling EMTs can even put out a small fire.
      They're trained to maneuver in and out of crowds, down sidewalks, up and down stairs. Specially designed studded tires keep the bikes from slipping on ice.
      From concerts to First Night celebrations, and now the magnitude of an Olympic event, these bike EMTs go anywhere.
      "In crowds, you get a lot of panic. You get a lot of pushing and shoving. A lot of people slip and fall. There are a lot of diabetic problems. A lot of people aren't prepared for the weather we encounter here in Utah."
      Ten-year-old Shantel Martinez was rescued one night. She wasn't really injured but demonstrated how fast the EMTs could get to her side.
      The same for Brian McEwin, simulating a more serious spinal injury. But now, enter the Gator, the fire department's newest crowd pleaser. They transport Brian out of the crowd on a gurney, even maneuvering down stairs.
      The bike and gator EMTs are specifically trained as first responders to any mass casualty if one should happen before these Games have ended.
      Monday, security responded to three people suffering symptoms of a heart attack while they hiked the golden mile at Olympic Park.

February 15, 2002




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