News

Medical Facilities Expanded for N.Y. Music Show

Matthew Hamilton

07/11/2013

July 11--MARIAVILLE -- As cars rolled up to the gates of Indian Lookout Country Club in Mariaville Wednesday for Camp Bisco, most were turned away, left to congregate at the corner of Mariaville Road and Batter Street because they were too early for the festival.

But by tomorrow, the rain-soaked country club -- which is expected to be turned to a dusty desert with dry weather -- will become a city in itself. An estimated 15,000 attendees and volunteers will descend on the open fields for one of the country's top electronic music festivals, which runs Thursday through early Sunday. And as with any 15,000-person city, there will be medical and safety facilities, with this year's set to be even larger.

The festival organizers have been criticized in media reports -- most recently in a Times Union story -- for a lack of proper onsite medical facilities, as well as the open-air drug market some say arises at the event.

Regardless, Frank Potter says he's always taken safety concerns about Bisco seriously.

"First things first is safety," said Potter, who owns the land used by the festival.

He said safety isn't just a matter of enough crowd-control personnel. The 2013 medical facilities and staff have been upgraded to include paramedics, a physician and EMTs on site, as well as five satellite medical tents scattered throughout the grounds and two main emergency health-care facilities, said Peter Brodie of BHR Consulting LLC, the group contracted to help develop the festival's emergency health management plan. He said the medical plan was expanded this year to cover 15,000 to 30,000 visitors, instead of the 12,000 last year's plan was created for.

On Wednesday, Potter showed off the facility, complete with three ambulances and two SUVs from Greater Amsterdam Volunteer Ambulance Corps Inc., which BHR brought to the event. That company will be set to transport attendees in need of any kind of medical attention to area hospitals, the closest of which is St. Mary's Healthcare in Amsterdam. Brodie estimated it's a 12- to 14-minute ambulance ride from the festival site.

Potter and Brodie both said there will be roving security to watch over the crowds not only to sniff out illicit behavior, but to turn to if a festivalgoer needs medical attention.

The ramped up medical staff and facilities are for everything from heat exhaustion to dehydration to drug overdoses. For the heat, Potter said thousands of gallons of water is trucked in to help attendees stay hydrated and keep cool.

For the drugs, there's a plan, too. There is a zero-tolerance policy, and attendees' cars, pockets and bags are checked. When drugs are found, Potter said that attendees, along with their stashes, will be turned around and sent outside the gates.

Though law enforcement doesn't come on site, he said they are waiting outside if they are needed.

"If you drive in here and a half hour later they (law enforcement) see you coming out of here, they know," Potter said of attendees who are turned away.

For those inside, Potter, who lives within the compound on a hill overlooking the fields, said he does his best to make sure it's a safe home for attendees, too.

"This event has always been about taking care of each other," he said.

"I love the kids. Somebody's got to make it safe for you. Maybe I don't make it perfect, but I try."

But he said safety also falls on campers.

"If you're in a tent and you don't tell us (there's a problem) or someone doesn't tell us ... we can't help you," he said. "As soon as we know, we'll help you."

mhamilton@timesunion.com, 518-454-5431, @matt_hamilton10