Moving Your Medics

In June 2005, then-Chicago Fire Commissioner Cortez Trotter developed an emergency-response team that would use Segway Personal Transporters (PTs) to provide paramedic support during special events in the city's downtown and lakefront areas. This program was so successful that four months later Trotter expanded it, forming an ALS Segway team that would patrol the city's central business district-also known as the Loop-on a daily basis.

Chicago FD Facts
Personnel: Approximately 5,100.

Call volume: More than 500,000 a year.

Assets: 24 battalions, 99 engine companies, 60 truck companies, four rescue squads, one hazmat unit, one collapse-rescue unit, one fire boat, 59 ALS ambulances, 12 BLS ambulances, 11 airport rescue crash units, four communications command vans and various auxiliary equipment Four new ambulance companies (three BLS, one ALS) are planned for 2007.

2007 budget: $474,660,000.

     Deputy Chief Paramedic Mark Linse, with the city fire department's EMS Support and Logistics Division, and Commander Sean Flynn, formerly of the commissioner's office, spearheaded the program's development, and according to Linse, it has been very successful.

     "Stories trickle back to me from the ALS Segway team, and I know of occasions when they've been first on the scene and instrumental in saving lives," he says. "We're very proud of them."

     The Chicago Fire Department has four Segway PTs in its EMS division, and during the special-events season each summer and fall, they utilize these units to provide emergency medical services.

     "They patrol the central business district in teams of two, consisting of a paramedic in charge and a fire paramedic," says Linse. "They run in tandem, with each of the Segway PTs carrying specific medical equipment to make the team fully ALS-equipped."

     With its battery-powered operation, nonmarking tires and silent, no-emissions propulsion, the Segway PT has developed a unique role in the urban EMS environment. Chicago FD personnel have found this combination to be "building friendly" as they access elevators in high-rises while responding to emergency calls.

     "As far as I know, we're the first fire department in the U.S. to use ALS-capable Segway PTs for medical responses, and it's due in large part to the vision of Commissioner Trotter, who was a paramedic himself," says Linse. "His vision was instrumental with coming up with ways to better provide fire and emergency services to the citizens and visitors in Chicago. When the weather doesn't allow the comfortable use of the PTs on the streets, the units can be deployed in the underground pedway [pedestrian walkway] system beneath the central business district. The pedway system takes them close to the incident, where they then come up to street level and provide patient care. It has proven to be an incredibly effective system."

     Each unit is equipped with an AED, giving paramedics the opportunity to defibrillate patients in cardiac arrest. In addition, the ALS Segway teams carry a variety of pharmaceuticals, advanced airway supplies, intubation equipment, IV supplies, patient-assessment equipment such as blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes and kits to test blood sugar, plus oxygen, wound-care equipment, trauma supplies and OB kits for delivering babies. All of this is divided among the six cargo bags on the paired PTs.

     The teams work in a tiered-response fashion. They monitor the radio and are often first to respond to incidents in the Loop. An ALS ambulance or engine also responds to these calls, to provide additional manpower and equipment as well as patient transport. Each member of the team works four 10-hour days, followed by four days off. Two teams are on patrol each month, and every 60-90 days, these paramedics are rotated back to ambulances, while other medics are assigned to the Segways.

     Current Fire Commissioner Raymond Orozco, who replaced Trotter last April (Trotter is now the city's Chief Emergency Officer), is also an advocate of using ALS Segway teams for large-scale events in the city's Grant and Millennium Parks, and at the North Avenue Beach during the city's massive Air & Water Show each summer.

     "What's nice about the Segway PTs during events is that first of all, you're higher, so you're able to see over the crowd," says Linse. "In addition, they're very maneuverable, and you're able to zip in and out of the crowd. When we get a call for a patient having difficulty breathing, the ALS Segway team gets there quickly, assesses the patient and is able to initiate care immediately. We then have our ALS Med Carts follow them to pick up the patients and transport them to a perimeter location, where an ambulance can be waiting. During the Taste of Chicago and other special events, this is one of the most effective ways for immediate patient access, treatment and transport."

     According to Linse, the paramedics and the public love the ALS Segway teams.

     "The public sees the ALS Segway team as an innovation, and they're always asking if they can have their pictures taken with the paramedics," he says. "Imagine that you're visiting the Chicago Loop from another country, and up rolls the Chicago Fire Department's ALS Segway team. Not only is it very cool, but it's also effective as a medical resource and has added benefit as a positive public-relations tool."

Brenda Mahoney is the national sales manager for Segway Inc. For more information, visit www.segway.com.