Andover Launching EMS Bike Unit For Fast Emergency Response At Events

ANDOVER, MA — Andover Fire Rescue has announced that it has launched an EMS Bike Team in order to speed up emergency response at community events.

The team, which initially will have 14 members, was trained earlier this month and is expected to deploy by Memorial Day, the department said.

A $21,824 grant from the Merrimack Valley Striders (MVS) running club and the Dave McGillivray Finish Strong Foundation covered the unit's equipment and training costs.

The team is expected to work at community events like Andover Days, car shows, sporting events, road races and holiday events, Andover officials said.

According to Andover Fire Rescue, bike teams are cost-effective and able to reach patients quickly, especially during events where there are crowds. The new team will be fully equipped to provide basic life support within moments, while an ambulance still is on the way, according to the department.

In a release announcing the new team, Andover Fire Rescue cited an example from the Los Angeles International Airport, where an EMS bike team was able to reach a patient and provide first aid, while it took a fully-equipped ambulance 45 minutes to arrive.

Andover officials said the members of the new team also will interact with crowds at community events between calls, increasing community engagement.

"EMS bike teams are a cost-effective way for us to improve response times at community events, and we are grateful to Merrimack Valley Striders and the Dave McGillivray Finish Strong Foundation for supporting this effort and making this team's creation possible with their generous financial support," Andover Fire Chief Michael Mansfield said. "We hope this unit will help build upon our relationship with the Andover community while also saving lives and providing an additional sense of security for all those at Andover events.”

According to Andover Fire Rescue, the origin of the EMS bike unit can be traced back to last Thanksgiving's annual Feaster Five Road Race, where the Dave McGillivray Finish Strong Foundation and MVS worked alongside Andover Fire Rescue. This led to conversations about adding an EMS bike team.

Andover officials also said the contribution of Allen Ryan was invaluable to the effort. Ryan, a Merrimack College graduate student who was working with the Town of Andover as a municipal innovation fellow, researched the costs and benefits of starting and maintaining an EMS bike unit.