Chatham Emergency Services safely responded to over 168 patients needing medical assistance along the St. Patrick’s Day parade route and within the festival areas in the 36 hours between Friday afternoon, March 16^th at 6:00 p.m. and Sunday morning, March 18^th at 6:00 a.m. 

CES handled all of the parade and event calls while responding to over 200 additional emergency calls per day in the rest of Chatham County. They also provided two dual paramedic staffed-ambulances for Vice President Mike Pence’s motorcade.

Prior to the event, CES trained and prepared for a potential mass casualty due to illegal drugs and/or trauma.  Each medic carried extra Narcan to reverse drug overdoses and “stop the bleed” tourniquet kits.

Multiple units and seven paramedic officers responded to a partial building collapse on Saturday afternoon at the Rogue Water Tap House at 4:41p.m. “Our first paramedic was on scene just 38 seconds after the first call for help went out,” said CEO Chuck Kearns. “In less than three minutes, Chatham EMS also placed 15 additional EMTs and paramedics on that scene to extricate, treat and transport the injured.  It was a remarkable response to those patients in a chaotic situation.”

Kearns adds, “Our team is skilled and experienced in handling the types of conditions that are typically a part of a large scale festival. We are proud to report that our training and expertise allowed our personnel to rapidly respond to every call, including a mass casualty incident with no loss of life. I am constantly amazed by the dedication and commitment of our volunteers and paid personnel. St. Patrick’s Day 2018 was another shining example of their excellent performance.”

CES’ preparations included deploying five bike medic teams, six ATV medic teams, four walking medic teams, and a total of 16 ambulances used for the parade and festival.

In the area of the parade and festival, Chatham Emergency Services safely responded to:

• 168 Total Patient Contacts

• 36 Drug/Overdose Related Calls

• 25 Unconscious Patient Calls

• 2 Strokes

• 1 Cardiac Arrest

• 25 Trauma Calls

• 79 Other Complaints

Kearns added this was one of the busiest St. Patrick’s Day weekends in the history of Chatham Emergency Services.