For added safety at large events, the Madison Fire Department has introduced a new “mini ambulance” to better navigate crowded places and bring people to safety. 

The mini ambulance, called the ASAP Medstat, is a small, fully equipped ambulance with two paramedics, according to MFD spokesperson Lori Wirth. The ambulance was designed for use in emergencies in large events because it can navigate crowds easier than a larger vehicle, she said. 

“Wherever you have a lot of people at one location, it amasses a lot of this potential for emergency events,” Wirth said.

While fire stations are located strategically in order to address these emergencies, Wirth said the Medstat would be more effective at navigating through large groups of people.

Regular ambulances are too bulky and large to safely navigate through crowds, Wirth said, and the Medstat’s smaller size makes transporting patients during these events easier.

According to Wirth, while paramedics on bicycles patrol these events, the Medstat is fully equipped to actually take someone out of the crowd.

“Its something much smaller, much lower profile, and it’s just a little easier to manage,” Wirth said.

MFD currently has only one of these vehicles on the force and has already used it at the Rhythm and Booms fireworks event, according to Bernadette Galvez, MFD spokesperson. She said the vehicle can be used at many city events as it is small and its all-terrain capabilities facilitate driving onto grassy areas, such as those in parks.

These events could even include Freakfest and University of Wisconsin football games, Wirth said. 

MFD is using the Advanced Life Support model in this new ambulance, which includes space for supplies and equipment in the interior of the Medstat’s cab and also has attachments for a backboard for traumatic injuries, according to a MFD statement. The vehicle also has space for a full size cot and can support up to 1,500 pounds of equipment, the statement said.

The Medstat can be hitched onto a truck for transport, and one will be hitched on a truck 24/7 in case of emergency, the statement said. 

Galvez said the space inside the Medstat is more crowded than a regular ambulance because of its smaller size but still has enough room for patients and paramedics to fit.

“People can fit in comfortably but can’t stand,” Galvez said.

The size is not an issue because Medstat is not meant to transport a patient directly to a hospital. Instead, it is supposed to transport them out of a crowd to a waiting ambulance that will take them to a hospital, she said.

The Medstat has already become popular with the military, but the vehicle is the first of its kind in Wisconsin, according to the statement.

MFD received the vehicle through grant funding from Metropolitan Medical Response System, which is provided by the federal government in order to increase emergency medical services capabilities.

Wirth said the city and Dane County might be able to find more applications for the Medstat in the future and may add more to the force.

“But right now we’re just working with the one and we are going to see how that works out at different events,” she said.