Friday night lights, Blitz the tee dog and the iconic blue turf are what many fans think of when they picture a Boise State football game. However, many people don’t consider the emergency services that ensure fans can have a stress-free experience.
On the day of the 2024 Mountain West Championship, Public Information Officer (PIO) for Ada County Paramedics, Ryan Larrondo alongside EMS Integration Officer Mark Babson and EMS Emergency Preparedness Officer Cameo Rogers gave The Arbiter a guided tour of Albertsons Stadium.
The tour outlined how Ada County EMS prepares to provide medical care in a high-traffic area like a Boise State football game.
“Hoping for the best but preparing for the worst”
“We always prepare for the big — but generally that doesn’t happen,” Rogers said.
Rogers explained that for patients who are higher up in the stands, paramedics utilize stair chairs or gurneys to safely get them down in the case of an emergency — particularly in icier weather when it can be unsafe for the patient to get down the stairs on their own.
In emergency situations, timing is crucial. Rogers explained that immediate care can be the difference between life and death for patients.
For players, the majority of injuries are handled by athletic training staff, however, for severe injuries paramedics would provide transport and medical care.
“We generally won’t bring an ambulance out onto the field unless we need to, that would be if somebody coded [cardiac arrest],” Rogers said. “You’ve heard of players that has happened to, so we want to make sure we’re prepared for that. That is the one time that EMS would take over that call and we would work it on the field because that’s our protocol. We wouldn’t move that patient because their ability to be saved is better if we work right there.”
Dealing with the high level of noise can be a challenge for EMS workers who need to communicate with one another clearly and efficiently.
“The field crew will have different headphones and a lot of times this stadium gets really, really loud, so even the crews can’t hear,” Rogers said. “We have another program that we call Ready OP that I have upstairs, so when the calls come in, I’m able to text them similar to what would happen if they were getting a dispatch out in the field.”
For highly attended games like the Mountain West Championship, Rogers explained that there are pre-staged crews that move to various locations and cover different areas.
What you can do while on the Blue
The EMTs who were interviewed unanimously said a sense of awareness from attendees is the most helpful in a hectic situation like a football game.
Hannah Carlsen-Humlen, a lieutenant for Ada County EMS shared what she would find most helpful from individuals at sporting events.
“Responsible drinking would be helpful — knowing where they’re at is always helpful if they have some situational awareness about where they’re located,” Carlsen-Humlen said. “Sometimes people are really confused and give us some weird directions.”
Larrondo pointed out that situational awareness from onlookers allows EMTs to get to patients quickly.
“The old adage, ‘see something, say something’ — be aware of your neighbors, who you’re with in the stands, because they might be having issues and the sooner that you can call or find someone to call for help, the better,” Larrondo said. “The first people on the scene are the first responders. If it’s a really serious emergency, being CPR trained, those minutes really add up. They can really save a life because it might take three, four or five minutes to get to the person for our crew.”
Keeping the passion alive
EMS work can be grueling. For the Boise State game alone, EMTs don’t head home until after midnight.
For Andrew Koponen, the response from patients and the overall Boise community kept his love for the job alive.
“I’m 53 years old. I’m retired, but I tried retirement and after two or three years of feeding the ducks — I want to contribute to society and coming out here I get something out of it too,” Koponen said.
“One thing I really love about being out here is that the people out here are very appreciative of their emergency service officers,” Koponen said.
Carlsen-Humlen noted that one aspect of game day work that differs from other EMT responses is the unpredictability.
“A lot of times you’re not exactly aware of how things are going to be working — where you’re going to be located at where places are,” Carlsen-Humlen said. “What’s a lot of fun is that it [is] different. There’s no monotony so you get a different exposure. You’re not stuck in a routine at work.”
Babson said that due to the job’s unpredictability, EMTs often have to improvise on the spot.
“We just have to figure it out. Because this industry, the nature of it is, I don’t want to call it luxury, but especially frontline providers don’t have the luxury of being like, ‘maybe we’ll wait on this,’” Babson said.
Prepping for game day
Ada County Paramedics EMT Bradford Dawson gave a breakdown of how a typical response bag might differ from one utilized on game day.
“You [have a] trimmed down option of things, you got to think a little further. At a game, at a fair, things like that are more heat-related, exhaustion, dehydration,” Dawson said. “Anything wild that happens, you’re calling for units to get there as well and our job is to just get it going until they can get there with all the stuff and really jump in.”
Fellow Paramedic Steve Boyenger said part of the job is assessing what kind of care attendees need and planning accordingly.
“Here we’re trying to see if they need to leave the game,” Dawson said. “Most people here don’t want to leave, so unless it’s a true medical emergency or they’re in some sort of altered state where they can’t care for themselves any longer for various college or age-related reasons, then make sure they’re okay and make sure they can stay.”
While Boise State football games are fun-filled nights for many Idahoans, EMS workers are equipped with the training and dedication to create a safe environment for athletes and fans, should emergencies arise.
