Tactical medical unit an integral part of emergency response
While members of the Butler County Emergency Services Unit carry ammunition and weaponry in their packs, the county’s Tactical Emergency Medical Services Unit backs them, carrying medical supplies.
The medical unit is dispatched alongside the ESU, so its members can provide medical support to that team, as well as anyone else in need of treatment in emergency situations, J. Nico Soler, commander of TEMS unit, said.
When the Butler County ESU was asked earlier this summer to assist at the July 13 campaign rally for former President Donald Trump, The TEMS unit came along, too, acting quickly to administer aid to victims of gunshot wounds before ambulance crews could get through the crowd.
Three people — in addition to Trump — were struck by bullets at the rally for Trump. Buffalo Township firefighter Corey Comperatore died as a result of his injuries, and two others — James Copenhaver of Moon Township and David Dutch of New Kensington — were critically injured in the shooting.
According to Soler, the unit was able to reach the gunshot victims at the rally quickly, so they were prepared to be transported to medical facilities as soon as possible.
“Whenever those two gentlemen were injured, we were right there in the hot zone, and we were able to render lifesaving treatment before EMS could come,” Soler said. “We were able to control bleeding, address his breathing.
“When the ambulance came and the helicopter came, we already had IDs on them.”
The Tactical Emergency Medical Services unit was founded in 2012 by Denny Crawford, with involvement from Soler and a few others. Now, there are about a dozen members of TEMS, and there is an emergency physician on the team from Butler Memorial Hospital who can direct staff members while on-site.
Crawford said the unit has specialized training that members undergo to prepare to work alongside the Emergency Services Unit. It goes beyond what a paramedic or EMT learns. Despite their additional training, the TEMS members are all volunteers, many of them working for other EMS agencies like LifeFlight or Cranberry Township EMS.
“It was just a niche that wasn’t filled by the local EMS,” Crawford said. “There is some adjunct training that regular EMS just doesn’t offer.”
Ed Lenz, commander of the Butler County ESU, in a recent conversation, commended the tactical medical unit for its work at the Trump rally. He said the tactical medical unit’s role was significant because it provided initial patient care to the three citizen gunshot victims.
According to Lenz, the emergency physician on-scene was able to give orders for paramedics to provide treatment and medications, which would normally have to be approved by a different medical command physician.
The Emergency Services Unit is dispatched by the Butler County District Attorney, Lenz explained. Crawford said it is dispatched about 15 to 20 times a year, on average.
The unit responds to emergencies such as standoffs, hazardous materials and large crowd control, and the Tactical Emergency Medical Services unit always accompanies them, Soler said.
Members of the TEMS carry supplies to deal with as many potential medical emergencies on-scene as possible, Soler said, from cardiac arrest to bleeding injuries. The utility truck used by the unit was given to the unit by the Callery Volunteer Fire Department, and has even more supplies.
It is like an emergency room in a truck, he said.
“We are an a licensed advance support squad; we can function as advanced life support ambulance,” Soler said. “Whether somebody was trying to apprehend was injured, or somebody is injured because they were in the wrong place at the right time, we are able to care for them.”
Soler also said Butler County pays for supplies for the unit, and the unit also gets medical equipment and consumables from Butler Memorial Hospital. Each member, however, has to buy their own uniform, according to Soler.
Mike Crawford is a longtime member of TEMS, and said the work is more interesting than ambulance work because of the types of situations the Emergency Services Unit responds to.
“Being able to help people in all applications,” Mike Crawford said. “It’s not always just about hop in an ambulance and go, it’s helping people in different environments and things like that.”
Soler said the TEMS was integral to the emergency response at the Trump rally, because ambulances and EMTs were dealing with people suffering heat-related illnesses. Each person with the tactical medical unit was covering a different part of the event, alongside a member of the Emergency Services Unit.
Soler said every member of TEMS had their supplies at the ready for people in need of immediate attention.
“We had all this in the truck and a lot of stuff on us already,” Soler said. “The Trump rally was a big one for us. All the ambulances were pretty much spread thin because of people in the crowd.”
When the shots were fired at the rally, members of the TEMS were the first medical personnel to address the victims. Soler said the TEMS and ESU personnel clear a scene before ambulance workers can enter to address and transport someone injured, even at other emergency scenes.
“Typically, we have an ambulance on standby in the area,” Soler said. “For them to be able to become involved, we have to make sure it’s safe to come in.”
Matt Nickl, a 12-year member of TEMS, said working with the unit feels different from working on an ambulance, because the response is even more immediate.
“It was kind of that team mentality,” Nickl said. “To me, it’s awesome to work on an ambulance, but just adding more components and making an impactful difference is something special.”
Soler said the unit is lesser known than other EMS departments in Butler County, and the ESU itself, but the agency is looking to drum up more support and members to staff emergency response needs in the county.
“It was predicated on if the officers are injured in the course of their jobs that it would be very beneficial to have a paramedic by their side to deliver lifesaving care,” Soler said. “We train how to move with them. We are right there with them.”
For more information about the Butler County ESU, email butlercountyswat@gmail.com.
