North Bay Professional Paramedics Association
launches MEDIC ONE

by Marc Picard - October - November 2000

Canada Day 2000 marked the unveiling of the North Bay Professional Paramedics Association’s latest project, a special events vehicle and trailer. This vehicle, call sign MEDIC ONE, is a reconfigured John Deere Gator 6x4, modified to accommodate a regular ambulance stretcher and painted in the familiar Ontario paramedic colours of white with reflective orange stripes and blue lettering. MEDIC ONE is the first of its kind in the province and many other municipalities are inquiring about it already. The project also includes a white 20 foot Wells Cargo trailer.

The North Bay Professional Paramedic Association Gator Fund Raising Committee is a non-profit organization formed in October 1999 and registered as a charitable organization. This project involved raising a total of approximately $40,000 in three phases. Phase 1 included purchasing the John Deere Gator from a local dealer, designing and building the patient care box and then completing the necessary painting and modifications. Phase 2 entailed the purchase of the trailer and the addition of all the sponsors names to the side of the trailer and phase 3, which is currently ongoing, is the purchase of a heart monitor and defibrillator, symptom relief kit, stretcher and various medial equipment. All the money to date has been raised by volunteers of the North Bay Professional Paramedics Association through the major sponsor of this project - Gateway Minor Sports and Charities - and several other sponsors. The Fund Raising Committee consisted of four individuals, Chairman Bob South, a mechanic with the North Bay and District Ambulance Service, Vice Chairmen Frank May and Greg Hays, paramedics at the North Bay and District Ambulance Service and Secretary/Treasurer Marc Picard, an emergency medical dispatcher at the North Bay Central Ambulance Communications Center. The project had the full support of the NBPPA members, including employees of both the North Bay and District Ambulance Service and the North Bay Central Ambulance Communication Center, together with the assistance of the Base Hospital Paramedic Program Co-ordinator, Mark Trinier, and the Regional Training Director, Tom Hunter and their staff, who willingly donated their time for fund raising, work on the Gator and trailer, as well as providing medical coverage at local events. As stated, the majority of the funds were donated by Gateway Minor Sports and Charities, and in return, the NBPPA agreed to provide volunteer workers at Charity Bingo on a monthly basis over a 12 month period. Other funds were donated by charity organizations and businesses throughout the community, and most of the outside labour and material such as paint and decals were donated by local businesses. The project has been so successful that businesses who heard through the grape vine about MEDIC ONE were calling with donations and volunteering services. In some cases, services had to be gracefully denied as they had already been donated or completed. For example, three separate companies were willing to complete the decals and lettering at no charge while at the same time several businesses offered their painting services. The sponsors included Alpine Tops, Bingo Country (and charities), Boart Longyear (North Bay), City Center Collision, Earlton Camping Center, Equisure Financial Network Inc., Gateway Upholstery, Gra Pics design, Knights of Columbus, Lowell Security, New Wingate Charities, Nipissing Arts Charities and Sports, North Bay Signs and Decals, North Bay Order of Royal Purple, R&L Equipment/John Deere, Team Premiere, West Ferris Minor Sports, Wilf’s Welding and Zellers Minor Sports. As well, members of the NBPPA organized a garage sale that raised almost $500 in a single day at the end of August. Items were not only donated by NBPPA members and their families, but also by people who wished to support the NBPPA’s fund raising efforts. Organizers were surprised at the number of items donated, which included among the hundreds of items a couch and chair, a bicycle, an electric stove and a wood stove.

Medic One parked at the Trans Canada Trail Relay 2000 Command Post. Note the open side storage compartment, displaying the heart monitor and other trauma equipment easily available to the paramedics.

The John Deere Gator and Wells Cargo Trailer are used at various outdoor events in North Bay and the surrounding coverage area to provide immediate medical assistance to patients in areas where a regular sized ambulance cannot access promptly. The special events vehicle is equipped with all medical and life saving equipment carried on a regular ambulance as well as a two way radio with both local and provincial frequencies. The Gator is modified to accommodate a model 35A ambulance stretcher and will be staffed by a minimum of two paramedics. The patient area configuration of MEDIC ONE is similar to the layout of a single stretcher Ontario ambulance, with a 35A ambulance stretcher on the left, a bench seat on the right with access to the storage compartment beneath it and two smaller storage compartments on the side wall as well as two D cylinder oxygen tanks. There is an access door on the outside of the box on the passenger side of the Gator, where all trauma and patient care related items are stored for quick and easy access. The rear box which houses the patient care and storage areas was designed by mechanic Bob South and members of the NBPPA. Bob put in over 100 maintenance hours on the Gator, not to mention the countless hours of fund raising in which he and his wife June continue to participate.

The 20 foot Wells Cargo trailer serves to transport and store the special events vehicle and is also used as a first aid post and command center at events where MEDIC ONE is deployed. The trailer has both 12 and 24 volt electrical capacity, interior lights, a roll-up side awning and the NBPPA has added storage cupboards for supplies. It features a ramp door for rear loading and unloading and a small side door for easy access to supplies. It also features a wide tandem axle. There are no wheel boxes in the spacious interior. All sponsors names are prominently displayed on the side of the trailer acknowledging their support.

MEDIC ONE was unveiled at the North Bay Canada Day parade and patrolled Canada Day celebrations at the North Bay waterfront July 1st, 2000, where thousands of people took part in the celebrations and fireworks. The special events vehicle was also in attendance at the Trans Canada Trail Relay 2000 celebrations on July 25th, 2000, as the relay passed through North Bay. The trailer was set up as a command post to assist the Canadian Ski Patrol, who provided first aid coverage for the relay from coast to coast.

MEDIC ONE’s first real test came during the North Bay Heritage Festival and Equisure International Air Show, held during the Civic Holiday weekend where crowds of over 40,000 people attended daily events, including air shows, nightly concerts, fireworks displays and the Northern Ontario Firefighter Combat Challenge. The special events vehicle, staffed by two paramedics trained to provide advanced life support, responded to over 300 requests for medical assistance throughout the festival grounds during the four day event. The terrain varied from roads closed to vehicular traffic, paved and gravel pathways, large fields, waterfront beach and rock areas laid out over several kilometers. Most incidents were minor in nature; however, approximately 20 patients required treatment at hospital. They were transported by MEDIC ONE to one of a group of predetermined relay locations bordering the festival grounds, where the 35A stretcher was transferred to a waiting ambulance and the patient transported to the North Bay General Hospital Emergency Department. "Due to it’s size and configuration, MEDIC ONE is able to move through crowds better and get people to a waiting ambulance promptly if it is necessary for them to go to the hospital. This new vehicle was critical on the festival’s grounds where due to the overwhelming crowds, it was impossible for a standard ambulance to access the patients. " said paramedic Frank May, the festival's medical and first aid coordinator. The 2000 Heritage Festival, also marked the 75th anniversary of the City of North Bay.

Paramedics Cam Clarke, Dave Lovell (hidden) and Frank May (driver) attend to an injured firefighter at the Northern Ontario Firefighter Combat Challenge during the North Bay Heritage Festival.

Photo by Marc Picard

During the Heritage Festival a John Deere employee, who currently works at the Canadian Head Office in Welland Ontario, spoke with the crew on duty with MEDIC ONE. She was amazed to see the modifications that had been made to the Gator and requested an article and photograph for publication in the John Deere newsletter. In addition, a retired John Deere employee who had worked at the plant that makes John Deere Gators saw an article relating to MEDIC ONE in North Bay’s local newspaper and was so impressed by it, he wrote a letter to John Deere in Welland and forwarded a copy of the article.

MEDIC ONE has been so successful at it’s inaugural events, that the committee is negotiating with the local District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board through the EMS Manager to see if it is feasible to have the Gator available on a 24 hour/7 day a week basis for emergency calls and special events throughout the coverage area. EMS Manager Jean Guy Belzile stated: "I had the pleasure of witnessing your efforts at the Heritage Festival. What a great job you and your crew have done for the citizens of North Bay and visitors. Your dedication and professionalism has not gone unnoticed. It is people and groups such as yourselves that makes living in the District of Nipissing a pleasant experience."

MEDIC ONE was also deployed at the Lost in the Rocks and Trees Mountain Bike Race, a 100 km off road mountain bike race from Mattawa to North Bay with over 90 participants ranging from beginner to professional cyclists. MEDIC ONE was stationed at a check point approximately 15 kilometers from road access near the community of Mattawa. Since this event was outside the North Bay and District Ambulance Service’s coverage area, Medic ONE was staffed by two volunteer paramedics, one from the North Bay Professional Paramedics Association and one from the Mattawa Ambulance Service. In the event a rider was injured, MEDIC ONE would travel to a local highway 15 kilometers from the checkpoint and the patient would be transferred to an ambulance from the Mattawa Ambulance Service, then transported to the Mattawa General Hospital. Fortunately, the paramedics only dealt with minor injuries, including lacerations, bruises and heat exposure and no patients required transportation to hospital.

Medic ONE was deployed in the Mattawa area once again at the end of September for the 1st Annual Easter Seals ATV fund raising ride. Over 78 participants were sponsored to complete one of two excursions, a 30 kilometer trail or a separate 60 kilometer trail. Paramedics from North Bay and Mattawa attended the one day event, which raised over $10,000 for Easter Seals. ATV enthusiasts were thrilled to see the Gator for the first time. Mattawa Ambulance Service Manager Ken Cowie, who attended the event stated that "Many participants both from the Mattawa area and from as far away as Southern Ontario were surprised to see such a special events vehicle and could not believe that we had access to one in this region. Many participants stated that this was the best looking and most practical special events vehicle they had ever seen at an event. I commend the NBPPA for providing us with such a unique and valuable tool."

North Bay Ambulance Mechanic and Chairman of the NBPPA Bob South (left) and North Bay CACC EMD and Secretary/Treasurer of the NBPPA Marc Picard (right) take Medic One for a test drive shortly before it was put into service.

Photo by Don Black

With the inevitable arrival of winter, the NBPPA is currently discussing the use of MEDIC ONE at local events, such as Lake Nipissing’s annual snowmobile drag races and North Bay’s very popular and well attended Le Carnaval as well as winter carnivals in the surrounding communities.

With the recent increase in media attention on the need for immediate cardiac defibrillation in cases of cardiac arrest, the North Bay Professional Paramedics Association Gator Fund Raising Committee continues to strive to raise approximately $10,000 to purchase a heart monitor and defibrillator, stretcher, symptom relief kit and various medical equipment to completely outfit MEDIC ONE.

For further information on the North Bay Professional Paramedics Association’s Gator fund raising project, please contact us!

About the author:

Marc Picard has been an emergency medical dispatcher with the North Bay Central Ambulance Communications Center for the past 2 years. Prior to that he was employed as a military policeman for 11 years, working at CFB Petawawa as a criminal investigator and at CFB Borden as an instructor. He has three United Nations tours of duty, having served with UNIIMOG in Iraq in 1988 and UNAMIR in Rwanda in 1994 and 1995. He has also completed the Emergency Services Communicators Course at Georgian College. He is actively involved in several community groups including The North Bay Professional Paramedics Association, the Kinsmen Club of North Bay and The North Bay and District Referees Association. In his spare time he is also the proprietor of a small graphic design business - www.grapicsdesign.com. He lives in North Bay with his wife Gillian.