Last year, I joined two Milwaukee police officers for a foot patrol shift at Summerfest, and honestly, it was one of my favorite stories I've ever written for OnMilwaukee.com. Seeing the cops calmly yet firmly keep the peace at the world's largest music festival was both interesting and eye-opening, a mix of discretion and quick thinking.
Tuesday night, I saw a different side of crowd control while riding along with the EMTs from Bell Ambulance. When fest patrons get hurt, these first responders have to spring into action. During a three-hour tour, I saw plenty of action from revelers who weren't exactly thinking "safety first."
According to Chris Anderson, operations director for Bell -- the private ambulance company contracted for Summerfest -- some days tend to be busier for the dozen or so EMTs and paramedics staffing the festival. Typically, he says, opening night, the first Saturday of Summerfest, July 3 and the final Saturday (which this year falls on the 3rd), generate the most activity.
Most of the problems his crew encounters are alcohol-related, either from minors who've consumed too much or from the occasional bumps and bruises associated with falls and fights. Sometimes, the incidents are more serious, like seizures or asthma attacks, but along with Bell, the Milwaukee Fire Department and the Red Cross are on site to handle nearly any problem that arises.
Dispatchers from the MFD and Bell route the appropriate responder to the appropriate incident, but while the fire department is on bike and the Red Cross is on foot, only Bell's employees travel in electric golf carts -- effectively serving as fully-stocked ambulances on the grounds.
Anderson says a typical day at Summerfest might yield 25 calls, though most occur after 9 p.m. He says he's seen a decrease in drinking-related problems in 2010, due to increased screening by Summerfest security and vigilance from the "red shirts," with whom his staff works closely.
The carts, or "Liberty Bells," are stationed throughout the grounds and staffed by two-person crews. Tonight, Bell has four crews on site, plus a dispatcher. On a busy evening, Bell will add a few more -- in this case, carts and crews diverted from Miller Park when the Brewers head out on a road trip. Anderson says the average response time to anywhere on the grounds is about 3.5 minutes -- which is rather impressive considering the density of the crowd on hand.
Tonight, it's cool and dry, so Anderson expects the calls to filter in more slowly. On a hot and muggy night, he says he might respond to 40 calls.
At 8:05 p.m., a call comes in from a Summerfest cleaning staffer claiming that a girl is passed out in the bathroom. The crew of Tim Kocovsky and Mike Nikolai is close to the scene, though, already positioned on the north end of the grounds. By the time they arrive, the 17-year-old girl is walking under her own power, and she gets on the cart without a fight.
The Liberty Bell brings her back to the police booking area by 8:15 p.m., where the EMTs check her blood sugar, pulse and blood pressure -- and provide her with a vomit bag -- Anderson says he sees a lot of vomit on this assignment. She's alert and mellow and is instructed by MPD to arrange a ride from her parents.
At 8:32, I join Kocovsky and Nikolai on their cart, and we ride to the north end. Whenever possible, the EMTs drive outside the grounds or through off-limits access areas to avoid foot traffic, but occasionally it's unavoidable. It's almost surreal slowly parting traffic, as Nikolai occasionally toots his horn to get the tipsy or distracted patrons to step aside.
A few minutes later, we park ourselves by the north gate and wait. And wait. And wait some more.
Kocovsky chats with the red shirts, many of whom he knows quite well, since he's been doing this job for 11 years. In fact, he became an EMT because of an experience he had at Summerfest in 1997, when a friend suffered an allergic reaction from eating peanuts. Riding in the ambulance, he spoke to the EMTs on the call and decided that this is what he wanted to do with his life.
Nikolai has only been an EMT for about a year and a half, and says is interested in becoming a firefighter. He says this job has opened his eyes to the field of emergency medicine, and he may continue along the route to becoming a paramedic.
At about 9 p.m., we drive to the middle of the grounds, as another cart responds to a call. A group of people step in front of the cart asking if we have any tape to fix one of their sandals (we do not). One of the women drunkenly asks me if I'm "looking for crazies," and asks me how many I've seen tonight.
I look back at her, smile, and say, "Just one so far."
In fact, Kocovsky and Nikolai note that they also play the role of traveling information kiosk. Throughout the night, we're flagged down for information on area beaches, the location of Saz's and more. It's just part of the job.
At 9:12 p.m., we get the call from dispatch that a girl has been in a fight. Nikolai flips on the siren, and we part the crowds in front of us, never quite reaching our top speed of 17 mph. In a few minutes, we arrive at the Venice Club, where police are already on hand. A teenage girl has a huge bump on her forehead, but she says she's OK.
The 19-year-old from West Bend says a woman came up to her and punched her in the head. The EMTs give her an ice pack, take her vitals and ask her if she's OK to stay on the grounds. She says she is and signs a consent form. Kocovsky tells me that he doesn't smell any alcohol on her breath, but doesn't speculate if there's more to her story. The police and Red Cross take over, and we head back to the north gate.
Along the way, a teenager flags us down and asks if we have an inhaler for his asthma. While the EMTs do have Albuterol (but not in inhaler form), they quickly assess the kid and immediately know he's in no danger, and this isn't a situation that warrants them administering it. They send him on his way to the first aid station, and we keep going.
Both the EMTs arrived today at 11 a.m., and they will likely stay on the grounds until about 1 a.m. Even 10 hours into their shift, however, they notice details that I do not. For instance, they both hear the kid passing by who says, "If he's got a knife, I'm ready to fight." That goes right over my head.
At 9:41 p.m. we get a call regarding an incapacitated teen at the U.S. Cellular stage. This is tricky, because Bell can drive close to, but not into the crowd. We park to the side, and the red shirts walk us backstage where a teen is slumped up against a wall.
He looks really out of it. He says he's 20 years old and denies, at first, that he's drunk or has smoked anything. Eventually, however, he admits to smoking marijuana, something that he's done a "few times, but never this much." He knows his phone number, his address, where he is, etc., and his vital signs are within normal ranges. Still, he is not in good shape, and the EMTs load him on to the stretcher and take him to the Red Cross station near the north gate for further evaluation.
Here, they check his blood sugar and run further tests, but at this point, the EMTs have done all they can. The boy, who says he's not in pain, but is very dizzy, lies down on a cot and we leave. Kocovsky and Nikolai don't think he's in any danger -- he's just very, very stoned.
I've seen about all I need this evening, but on my way back to my car, we get one more call at 10:06 p.m., this time from a passed out man outside the grounds who can't wake up. Bell's territory extends to the area outside of Summerfest, too, so we speed south on Harbor Drive to the mid gate, where the siren miraculously wakes up this shirtless, pierced and heavily tattooed man with his shorts almost falling off, who says he's 21.
This guy is just really drunk, but he's somewhat lucid -- and very smiley. The fire department and the red shirts are already on the scene. Though he can barely talk, he can stand, and his friend says he is willing to take him home. Since he's already outside the fest, the EMTs let him go, drop me off, and continue with their shift. They will work for another three hours or so tonight.
For a cool and mellow night, the emergencies were indeed starting to heat up by 10:30 p.m., but I got a good taste of what Bell Ambulance's staff sees on a typical night at Summerfest. They're prepared for the worst, with more than enough manpower and equipment to coordinate any major incident -- fortunately, no one was seriously hurt during my ride along.
Working with the other staff on the grounds, it's a well-oiled machine -- just like what I experienced with MPD last year. And it's good to know the pros are on the scene, even if you don't need them.
So much goes into keeping Summerfest safe and fun -- even if the important stuff takes place where you don't see normally get to see it.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
