Wis. responders respond en masse to track meet

Runners suffering from heat exhaustion get responder care from 5 different areas

By Jesse Garza
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

PALMYRA, Wis. — An initial call to treat a dog bite victim escalated into a massive emergency response when high school runners began collapsing in almost 90-degree heat Tuesday during a cross country meet near Palmyra.

Firefighters and emergency personnel from five communities responded about 4 p.m. to the Palmyra-Eagle Invitational at Carlin Weld Park, Palmyra Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ryan Meyers said.

"The kids started to run about the same time we got the call on the dog bite," Meyers said. "Pretty soon the heat started getting to them."

Two runners were taken to Waukesha Memorial Hospital with heat exhaustion and numerous others were treated at the scene, including six runners who were given fluids intravenously, Meyers said.

One of the runners taken to the hospital was treated and released, and the other was expected to be released late Tuesday, Meyers said.

About 150 to 200 people were at the park, in the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, including students, faculty, parents and varsity and junior varsity runners from 10 high schools, Meyers said.

Firefighters, paramedics and emergency medical technicians from Whitewater, La Grange, Eagle and Sullivan assisted in the response, which included eight ambulances and a number of all-terrain vehicles, Meyers said.

Emergency responders had to search the hilly terrain of the course, and some patients had to be retrieved with all-terrain vehicles, Meyers said.

"We had kids dropping right on the trails," he said.

Some patients who were not treated were given fluids and allowed to cool off inside ambulances, he said.

According to the National Weather Service in Sullivan, the high temperature in the Palmyra area was about 89 degrees Tuesday, with dew points in the low 70s and the humidity about 60%.

The incident occurred during the meet's varsity competition and forced officials to cancel the scheduled junior varsity competition, Meyers said.

"When you have that many kids in that short of a time dropping, I think it's in everybody's best interest to reschedule the event," Meyers said.

A Palmyra-Eagle Area School District official could not be reached by telephone for comment Tuesday night.