Local EMS treated 250 at Butler Trump rally, including shooting victims
Less than a half-hour after getting set up at the Butler Farm Show grounds for former President Donald Trump’s July 13 campaign rally, the Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Company received its first call for a heat-related issue.
About 250 people were overcome by the heat, but whoever was counting might have stopped, according to Lou Zimmerman Jr., chief of the Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Company.
“We arrived around 10 a.m. and started getting calls for heat-related issues within 20 minutes of us getting set up,” Zimmerman said.
Roughly 50 firefighters and emergency medical personnel from county volunteer fire companies assisted at the presidential campaign rally, spending 11 to 12 hours treating hundreds of people overcome by high temperatures without falling victim themselves.
They also treated two spectators who officials have said were wounded by gunfire from the young man who attempted to assassinate the Republican presidential candidate.
The FBI has identified the would-be assassin as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, and said he was shot and killed by Secret Service agents. Crooks shot and killed Buffalo Township firefighter Corey Comperatore, a spectator, while firing at Trump, who was wounded along with two other spectators.
The U.S. Secret Service has said that, two men — David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township — were airlifted to Pittsburgh hospitals following the incident, where Comperatore was killed and Trump’s ear was grazed by a bullet.
Firefighters arrived at the Butler Farm Show around 10 a.m. and were divided into teams. They left between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Some used utility vehicles that fire companies brought to reach those who needed help, said Zimmerman, of the Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Company, which was the lead fire company because most of the farm show grounds are within the township.
“I was tasked with developing a response plan. I coordinated getting my staff and mutual aid partners together, and developed teams to work in the field,” Zimmerman said. “We had staff on foot, and we also used UTVs to bring patients back to the triage area.”
The temperature that day reached 91 degrees. The first speakers were scheduled to begin speaking at 4 p.m., but they began an hour later; Trump was scheduled to begin speaking at 5 p.m., and he took the podium at 6 p.m. Pallets of bottled water that were scattered around the venue were quickly consumed.
Most of the patients had to be cooled down and were taken to cooling tents, but some were taken to a treatment trailer, Zimmerman said. Both sites were staffed by paramedics and staff from Butler Memorial Hospital.
The first responders also jumped into action when spectators were injured in the shooting. Several of the departments indicated that first responders assisted victims before they were taken to hospitals.
Firefighters and emergency medical staff from seven fire companies were reminded to keep themselves hydrated at a 9 a.m. briefing Zimmerman led at Connoquenessing’s fire station. He said he does not believe any of the responders had heat-related issues.
“The emergency services component of that rally was second to none. They worked hard. There were no complaints. Everybody did their job, and they did it very well,” Zimmerman said. “It was a brutal day, and they performed flawlessly and very professionally. I couldn’t be more proud of the staff and their commitment and dedication.”
Four emergency medical technicians and two firefighters from the Herman Volunteer Fire Company answered the call for help at the rally, and brought the company’s UTV.
Chief Rob Shuler, who served as an EMT that day, echoed Zimmerman’s thoughts.
“It’s amazing how many volunteers came out and volunteered their time especially on a hot day like that. It goes to show that’s what we do and it’s in our blood. We love helping people,” Shuler said. “I couldn’t be any prouder of all my guys who were there and everyone else who was there.”
After receiving a call for help, teams would locate the patient, determine if they needed cooling or medical treatment and take them to the cooling tent or treatment trailer, he said.
He said he heard that at least 250 people were treated in some way, but the number was probably higher.
None of the Herman crew had a problem in the heat, and Shuler said he came prepared with a backpack filled with water and Gatorade.
“You’re not going to help if you become part of the problem,” he said.
He said his team rendered care to one of the shooting victims before he was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital.
“For as many people that were there, everybody did a phenomenal job,” Shuler said.
Harmony Fire District Chief Scott Garing said Deputy Chief Doug Pickett organized a group of five firefighters to go to the rally where they helped many people suffering from heat-related illness. They brought a rescue engine to the rally.
He said he too heard the patient count stopped after 250 people were treated.
“It was pretty much one after the other,” Garing said.
Butler County Emergency Services set up an incident command post that received and routed calls for help, he said.
He said the crew made sure it had enough to drink and eat to work in the difficult environment that day.
“They were outside in the elements like everyone else, wearing heavy equipment,” Garing said.
Firefighters from the Prospect-Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Department, Chicora Volunteer Fire Department, Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company and Evans City Area Volunteer Fire Department also served at the rally.
