Emergency Response - Bicycle to the Rescue

In subsequent posts will attempt to explain why, from my own point of view, the bicycle is the most noble invention.

Now I will leave you with yet another one of those fields in which most of us don't normally think of a bike as being part of, but once again, the bike comes to the rescue.

First I will introduce the bike ambulance. I have decided to introduce this kind of emergency vehicle first because it is my favorite. I favor the bike ambulance over any other because it allows full carriage of the patient, because it is being used in the most underdeveloped places, and because it does not utilize any expensive technology. The same old two wheels and a flat bed that hinges on to a regular bicycle.

Secondly we have the fire fighter bicycle. Would you ever think of a bicycle as a fire engine? Well, it is not really a fire engine, but it certainly carries the most necessary equipment to fire a fight such as the hose, two fire extinguishers, an ax and a fire fighter.  For some reason, I always imagined that the truck carried the water and all needed to suppress the fire, but that is seldom the case in the city. 

 These extra light emergency vehicles can perfectly terminate a automobile fire with one or both bottles.   The hose is probably not the longest, but it will provide plenty of help before more adequate help arrives.  One thing in particular that I like about this bike is that it even has a bell. How fancy can you get?

Finally, let us look at the paramedic bicycle.  Ahh how nice and how smooth.  This emergency response velo might be designed to cover small areas such as a sports arena, a beach, a park, a school, etc.  Whatever the area that you have designed a bicycle to cover, it is clear that we have seen them in action way far from their intended range.  I would think that the only possible limitation of the Emergency Response Bike (EMB) is speed.  Having said that, one of the advantages an EMB has over any other kind of emergency vehicle is accessibility. Not only for their lightness, but also for their size.


Photo: Palatine.il.us1

An ambulance bicycle or bicycle ambulance (however you want it) can provide the same care a motorized ambulance can. In England this kind of ambulances are equiped with just the same things you will find in a truck fitted for an ambulance. According to the BBC News, in Cambridge:

"The yellow and green mountain bike should be with a patient within minutes, dealing with all the same emergencies as regular ambulances. Equipment on the bike includes oxygen and a defibrillator, together with blue flashing lights and a siren.

Photo: 3Dcarshows.com


The East of England Ambulance Service said the scheme was to be piloted from 17 October for three months.  Darren Rutterford, head of the Cycle Response Unit for the East of England Ambulance Service said: "Cambridge, being a small but densely populated city visited by huge numbers of students, shoppers and tourists, seemed to be the ideal place to base a bike. "Parks, shopping centres, pedestrian areas and heavy traffic are all difficult for traditional ambulances to reach but will become easily accessed with this new scheme."



Thanks to: utilitycycling.org, bikeportland.com, firefighternation.com, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, timespanner.blogspot.com, guardian.co.uk blog, 3Dcarshows.com, bikehugger.com