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Tampa Fire Rescue bike paramedics ready to roll to patients during Gasparilla

 
Tampa Fire Rescue Lt. Ken Newman answers questions about the department's new specially equipped bicycles designed to help paramedics reach patients in crowded, tight spaces. [TONY MARRERO   |   Times]
Tampa Fire Rescue Lt. Ken Newman answers questions about the department's new specially equipped bicycles designed to help paramedics reach patients in crowded, tight spaces. [TONY MARRERO | Times]
Published Jan. 28, 2016

TAMPA

Lt. Ken Newman of Tampa Fire Rescue was working the Gasparilla Children's Parade last weekend when he got the call.

A young girl watching the parade along Bayshore Boulevard had fallen down and needed help. She was on the water side of the parade route, and reaching her would be a tricky endeavor for paramedics who have to navigate the crowd and cross the rolling procession. But Newman was astride one of the department's new specially equipped bicycles designed to help paramedics access patients in crowded, tight spaces.

He threaded through the throng, squeezed his bike through the metal barrier, weaved his way past the rolling floats and arrived in two minutes to treat the girl's injured face.

"It truly worked the way it was supposed to," Newman said Wednesday.

The bike paramedics are part of Tampa Fire Rescue's new First Assessment Stabilization Team, or FAST. Eight bikes have been outfitted with medical bags containing basic and advanced life-support equipment. The goal is to get to patients quicker in an urban environment during events that draw large crowds, like the upcoming Gasparilla parade on Saturday.

"It really gives us the ability to deploy quickly, to react efficiently and … triage people and treat them before they are transported," Mayor Bob Buckhorn said during a Wednesday news conference. "It really makes a lot of sense, and I hope to expand these units in a more significant way moving forward."

The Tampa Police Department, which already uses bikes to patrol, approached the fire department with the idea and provided eight Safariland/Kona patrol bikes from its existing inventory. A team of 16 paramedics completed a 32-hour course with the International Police Mountain Bike Association.

The bike paramedics can handle some calls themselves. In more serious cases, the bike team can use advanced tools such as defibrillators and oxygen masks to stabilize a patient until more advanced help arrives.

"I've seen it used in other places in the country and it's always been a successful endeavor, so we thought it would be useful here," said Tampa police Sgt. Colin McCoy, head of the department's bicycle unit. "They've already deployed with us for several events, and specifically during the children's parade we saw they were very useful in getting to several (calls) before a Fire Rescue cart or vehicle could have gotten there."

The fire department used about $4,500 from the Gasparilla Distance Classic Association to outfit the bikes with medical bags. The association donates to the department each year.

Tampa Fire Rescue has saved two lives at the foot race over the years, and now paramedics will be able to respond even more quickly, said Susan Harmeling, executive director of the race association.

"It gives us an incredible amount of security to know that they're there," Harmeling said.

Contact Tony Marrero at tmarrero@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3374. Follow @tmarrerotimes.