First responders treated shooting victims at Butler Trump rally following hundreds of heat-related issues
The nine Butler Ambulance Service employees sent to the July 13 campaign rally for former President Donald Trump figured they were in for a challenging day, given the heat and lack of shade at the Butler Farm Show grounds and how early many Trump supporters planned to arrive.
But when bullets started flying, the emergency medical technicians and paramedics moved from treating heat-related illness to providing lifesaving care to those who were wounded by bullets from a sniper.
Jesse Haas, director of operations at Butler Ambulance Service, said the employees treated those injured by the gunfire at the rally — with the exception of Trump, who was whisked into a Secret Service SUV and driven to Butler Memorial Hospital for treatment of an ear wound.
David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township were critically injured and were first assessed and treated by ambulance service workers before being taken by helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital, Haas said. Another man, Corey Comperatore, of Buffalo Township, was killed in the shooting.
Haas said the ambulance service’s team had already had a stressful day, as about 250 people had been treated for heat-related issues at the rally.
“Then, the incident happened, and they had to deal with that,” he said.
Between the heat and then the shooting, the entire workday was a mass casualty event for Butler Ambulance Service workers at the rally, Haas said, describing how the need expands beyond the resources available.
He said he is proud of his employees and the bravery, professionalism and perseverance they displayed at the Butler Farm Show grounds as the heat took its toll and a shooter carried out his deadly plot.
He also praised the other medical responders and volunteer firefighters who worked the rally.
“We had really good coordination between agencies that don’t normally do those things together,” Haas said. “Everyone pulled together and handled more than what their capacity would typically warrant.”
Haas said Butler Ambulance Service had help from Harmony Emergency Medical Services and the Squad 98 UPMC medic truck, as well as firefighters from Connoquenessing, Prospect, Saxonburg, Evans City, Herman, Zelienople and Chicora volunteer fire departments and a few members of the county HAZMAT team.
A cooling tent provided by the Trump campaign and a medical tent provided by the state Department of Health were manned by Butler Ambulance Service personnel.
The health department also provided a mobile medical trailer, and a bus was on site to use as a cooling and treatment station for heat-related illnesses.
“Primarily, our four crews did a lot of getting patients to medical tents,” Haas said.
He said the high temperatures and humidity, plus the lack of shade and other factors, caused many to seek treatment.
“Younger kids don’t hydrate well, and older people dehydrate quickly, so you’ve got the perfect storm (for illness),” Haas said.
He said people feeling ill were moved into an air-conditioned area and ice packs were used as an initial treatment.
If the patient remained ill, an intravenous drip with cooled saline solution was started and oxygen was administered if the patient appeared to be moving toward heat exhaustion.
As a last resort, those not responding to on-site treatment were transported to Butler Memorial Hospital emergency department by one of the four Butler Ambulance vehicles stationed outside the perimeter.
Haas said at least 10 to 15 people were taken from the Trump rally to the emergency room on July 13.
Following the care administered by medics to those affected by the heat or injured in the assassination attempt, Haas wanted to ensure his professionals were OK themselves.
He said multiple debriefings were held a few days after the event by the Butler County Critical Incident Stress Management Team at the Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Department.
“All emergency responders were welcome to come to that one,” Haas said.
The team visited Butler Ambulance Service on July 23 to focus on employees who worked the rally, where concerns and issues resulting from the events there could be discussed.
“The general gist of it was to get it off your chest,” Haas said.
He said, at this point, everything is pretty much back to normal. Shelves are restocked with items depleted at the rally, and no employees decided to leave the emergency medical field as a result of stress from July 13.
“Everything should be good to go now,” Haas said.
