Emergency Services
The
Emergency Services Department of the Rangers (ESDR) consists of
highly-trained professionals from a variety of emergency services
fields and experience bases. These volunteers work long hours to
ensure the safety and well-being of Black Rock City. They also
provide the primary interface between outside emergency service
agencies and the Burning Man organization, both on-playa and year-round.
The ESDR has four branches: Fire, Medical, Communications, and
Crisis. These branches function with the integrated fire service
model for command, control, and structure. Nationally recognized
standard operating procedures, such as the use of Battalion Chiefs
and the Incident Command System, provide smooth integration with
outside and allied agencies to maximize safety and security for
participants, volunteers, and emergency services personnel. For
more information, email 911(at)burningman(dot)com.
Fire
ESDR’s Fire branch keeps Black Rock City safe from fires that could endanger
life and property; equally importantly, the Fire branch is one of the key elements
in making "burns" safe and enjoyable. The Fire branch interfaces
and cooperates with the Art department, the Pyro Safety Team (PST), the pyrotechnic
team, North Tree Fire, and the
Rangers. The Fire branch's key role is to provide safety planning and Rapid
Intervention Teams (RIT) during these burns.
The Fire branch and North Tree Fire provided fire engines and firefighters
to the three 24-hour stations in Black Rock City. Even with fire’s central
role in the event, fire-related emergencies requiring responses remain infrequent.
A new theme camp was born this year: For the first time, most of the Fire
Branch volunteers camped together to create Station #1 of the Black Rock
City Volunteer
Fire Department, . The intent was to integrate the Fire branch into the
Burning Man community and to create a space the community of fire fighters
could
call Home. True to fire tradition, Station #1 was complete with an authentic
old-style
hose tower and a brick-façade engine house. These also served as a shade
structure for Black Rock City Engine #1, a lookout tower, and a pleasant portico
to the camp. Neighboring theme camps loved it, and plans are in the works to
jointly apply for village status for 2003.
Each year since 1994, The Man has borne a brass plaque commemorating firefighters
who have lost their lives. This year, Russ Kane, Fire Branch Chief, and
Dale Scott, Fire Chief Emeritus, created an ESDR-sponsored ceremony to
commemorate
all responders lost in the 9/11 terrorist attacks and all those who last
year fell in the line of duty throughout America. The ceremony joined
ESD, Local,
State, and Federal Law Enforcement, BLM Fire, REMSA, and North Tree Fire
with many members of our community. The gathering was warmed by burn
barrels brought
from New York - barrels crafted by New York burners to warm the NYPD,
FDNY, PAPD and countless others on the cold fall nights in lower Manhattan
during
the recovery efforts. One by one, participants read from cards bearing
the names and affiliations of the fallen, and dropped each card into
a brass
box. At each name, a bell tolled: the century-old San Francisco fire
bell, which
has never before left the city. The ceremony closed with a fireworks
salute of 21 airbursts, and the brass box was transported to the Temple
of Joy.
Many thanks to the LLC, Rangers, Echelon, Music, DPW, and SEAL and all
of the others
who helped honor the fallen.
Medical
The Medical branch works closely with REMSA (Regional
Emergency Medical Services Authority), the Fire branch, and North Tree Fire
to provide a municipal-style EMS system much like the systems that serve
most other cities in the United States. The Medical branch staffs two 24-hour
stations at the 90 and 270 degree plazas and provides rapid first-response
medical care anywhere within Black Rock City. Each station has a quick-response
vehicle dedicated to medical responses, and a 24-hour supervisor. These stations
are jointly served by fire engines from North Tree Fire and the Fire branch.
The engines can also function in an EMS role when fixed medical resources
are depleted.
REMSA provides ambulance service within Black Rock City, staffs the Center
Camp clinic, and handles all ground and air transportation to local hospitals.
REMSA and the Medical branch are fully integrated operationally during the
event.
On average, there were 161 patient contacts per day during the event (lightest
day: 72, heaviest day: 259). Most of these (513 cases total) were "booboos" and
minor injuries. Other common medical problems included eye problems (172 cases
total) and heat-related injuries (181 cases total). Only 25 patients were transported
off-site via ground or air, a 41% reduction from last year. Total patient volume
also decreased by 20%, despite a significantly larger population. There were
no deaths associated with the event this year.
New for this year was the establishment of a DPW extension of Emergency
Services. A DPW staff member did double duty, functioning as a medical
provider during
the set-up and tear-down of Black Rock City. Future expansion of this
service is planned to include an infirmary and additional medical resources
year
round.
Communications
The Communications branch provides two major services: an emergency services
dispatch center, and the communications infrastructure for the entire event.
The dispatch center functions as a fully staffed 24-hour 911 public safety
answering point. It coordinates all emergency responses within Black Rock
City for the ESDR and allied agencies like REMSA. The dispatch center also
provides
a direct interface to all outside agencies such as law enforcement. A first
for 2002, the BLM Command Post Dispatch and the Burning Man emergency dispatch
center were located in the same building. The unprecedented flow of information
between BLM, law enforcement and Burning Man Emergency Services allowed all
of the event's public safety agencies to provide improved service and safety
to participants.
Utilizing the latest technologies, the dispatch center has a variety of tools
at its disposal: alphanumeric paging, satellite communications, computer-aided
dispatch, radio system control consoles, and other administrative resources.
Despite the advanced technology, some departments experienced new problems
with the communications system this year. Fortunately, the purchase of
additional equipment and the use of better-suited equipment will resolve this
problem
for 2003.
All Burning Man departments that make the event happen depend on reliable
two-way communications to get their job done. The communications infrastructure
provides
the means for this. Utilizing a network of repeaters both on site and
remote, the Communications branch ensures that the system has fail-safe and
redundancy
technologies in order to cope with the harsh conditions of the Black
Rock Desert. This is critical, because any department that loses its ability
to communicate
loses its ability to do its job. A hardy team of about 12 engineers and
technicians work year round to ensure the integrity of the system.
The Communications branch also provides year-round communication in the
larger region, coordinating communications among Gerlach, Black Rock
Station, and
Black Rock City.
Crisis
The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) consists of eight highly-trained and dedicated
psychiatric professionals. Six were on active duty this year, plus a manager/backup.
The CIT responds to psychiatric cases, performs crisis intervention for crime
victims, and provides victim advocacy to local agencies such as law enforcement
and local hospitals. This year, as in previous years, they responded to about
a dozen cases on the playa.
Service
As a canvas-maker is to a painter, these four branches weave a fabric of safety
that supports the creation of art and community. As paint, brush, and canvas
are bound together by the art, they become inseparable and transformed. Emergency
services is its own art, practiced and performed, quietly and proudly, 24
hours a day, somewhere in Black Rock City.
Submitted by,
Joseph Pred,
Emergency Services Operations Chief
Contributors
Russ Kane, Fire Branch Chief
Damon LaRose, Dispatch Branch Chief
David Barr, Fire Branch Deputy Chief, Planning
Click here to read the 2001 Emergency Services. 