Large Event Emergency Medical Services Planning

About the Program

Category: Risk and Emergency Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

2011 marked the one hundred and fiftieth Anniversary of the Civil War. To remember the sesquicentennial, re-enactments of the First and Second battles of Manassas were planned in Prince William County, Virginia. The Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue (DFR) Office of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Operations worked with the County planning team to identify how they would effectively deliver EMS during this unique large scale event. EMS Operations Staff consulted industry experts, County agency partners, the Operational Medical Director (OMD), and County Emergency Management Staff to develop an EMS plan that provided excellent service to the customers at the re-enactment without overwhelming outside resources committed to providing service to the citizens and visitors not involved in the event. Although the overall event planning and EMS plan were excellent, one specific element of the plan that addressed services provided at the re-enactment site was particularly extraordinary. This part of the plan supplied unique medical protocols drafted specifically for the needs anticipated at that location. The needs were based on the activities, site facilities and conditions, and environmental conditions. The plan and its implementation proved successful when the event, which contained approximately 6500 re-enactors and 14,500 spectators, concluded with 267 patients treated and only 33 transports over seven days and nights.