by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Jaguars fans had to tend to the many bruises to their pride themselves this season, but another team has sprung into action when the wounds were more substantial on game days since 1995.
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department (JFRD) employs a staff of 30-35 people to comfort and treat people attending events at the stadium who require anything from a Band-Aid to a backboard.
“Most often, people don’t know we are there until they need us,” said Rescue Chief Charles Moreland, regarding the Special Events Section. “Our number one priority is to make sure that people are safe, and we make sure that we have enough people available to overwhelm whatever situation presents itself during events, so we can provide people with the best care possible.”
Providing this level of service during an emergency response isn’t easy in the regular discharge of the section’s duties, and it gets more difficult when they try to perform in a confined space that is filled with 60,000 or more people.
“Having to manage care for a patient surrounded by other people in the upper sections of the stadium is somewhat challenging,” said Moreland. “It’s not conducive to managed care in that environment, so we have to get them down.”
The section works about 900 events a year, which include everything from charity walks, concerts and parades to athletic events at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. The latter is more high profile and also presents a higher level of difficulty when providing care.
For example, a stadium usher might notice a person who may have twisted an ankle walking down to get a bite to eat at half-time. The usher contacts a dispatcher and explains the situation. The dispatcher is in a room overlooking the field from the west stands with representatives from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, JFRD, security companies, food vendors and grounds crews.
One of these representatives is 20-year JFRD veteran Lt. Broderick Edwards who is responsible for dispatching JFRD personnel and equipment to the scene during events at the stadium. At his disposal are foot patrols, bicycle teams and MERVs (Mobile Emergency Rescue Vehicle).
“Game day is a collaboration of a lot of different agencies coming together to keep people safe,” said Edwards. “My responsibility is to be the eyes and ears in the booth. By seeing what is going on in the stadium and listening to reports from people at the scene, I can coordinate the department’s assets to get the right people and equipment in the right place to provide the best care possible.”
One of the people that Edwards would rely on at the scene is JFRD Captain Murray Kramer, who has been serving on the department for 34 years.
“We work with a team concept,” said Kramer. “I would be the eyes and ears on the ground to relay information to Lt. Edwards so he could dispatch the necessary staff and support to the scene.”
There is one medical station on each side of the stadium and another on the main concourse behind the north end zone. Injuries can be assessed at these posts and if an injury or condition becomes more serious, a four-bed medical room with monitors is available to care for patients. A number of hospitals are within a short distance of the stadium if a patient’s condition exceeds the capabilities of the equipment at the stadium.
Sometimes it’s not an injury sustained at the stadium that leads to JFRD response. It can be a pre-existing condition.
“We’ve never had a baby delivered at the stadium,” said Kramer, “but we’ve come pretty close. But, First Baptist Hospital is so close we’ve been able to get them to a hospital in time.”
The weather can make JFRD’s job a little harder as well.
“Those August and September preseason games are pretty tough with the heat,” said Kramer. “Heat and alcohol don’t mix and when the temperature rises, that’s when we are the busiest.”
Services continue to evolve so the section can meet the needs of the community when these services are in the highest demand. The department critiques itself after every game to assess how it can improve its procedures, and this has been the practice since the Jaguars first took the field in 1995. These sessions have led to innovative ideas to help address problems with heat exhaustion that occur during summer events. Extra fans and misters are brought in to help people cool down and the JFRD has developed a relationship with the JTA, so it can borrow buses during events to help fans cool down.
“Those buses being there doesn’t just happen,” said Kramer. “You have to have a good relationship with JTA in order to make that happen, and they feel they are doing something to help the community.”
The JTA isn’t the only one helping the community. All of the members of the JFRD working the game are there when they would normally have time off. The staff is paid, but it’s additional duty they volunteer to work.
“I do it for the excitement of doing the job and watching out for a small city (about 60,000 people file into to the stadium for Jaguars games),” said Edwards. “It’s not about sitting and watching the games. I think I may have seen two plays during the Super Bowl, because you have to pay attention to what is going on at all times when you are on the job. It’s also about the camaraderie with the different guys. A lot of the same people have done it for a lot of years, so it’s kind of like a family atmosphere.”
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