Miami Fire Rescue ready to help at Ultra Music Festival weekend
MIAMI - Spring Break weekend in Miami is about to get even busier.
On Thursday, crews were wrapping up preparations for the annual Ultra Music Festival which kicks off at Bayfront Park on Friday.
If you live in downtown Miami, prepare for thumping music and large crowds.
Nearly 170,000 people are expected to attend the three-day electronic music event.
Miami police will be amping up their presence to keep concertgoers safe. Miami Fire Rescue will also be out in force to help those who find themselves in need of services. Each day more than 100 firefighters and paramedics will be on hand to help where needed, equipped with everything from backpacks with first aid, radios, and ambulances on standby for more serious cases.
"A lot of the common things that we see are dehydration, intoxication, injuries from people dancing, or stumbling or falling. Sometimes people have medical emergencies. So, another thing is if you do take medication and you're going to be there for a long period of time, take your medication with you, whether you're diabetic or you have seizures. So, those are the common things that we see and that's why we continuously promote hydration," said Miami Fire Rescue Lt. Pete Sanchez.
He said between arrests and transports, they felt like last year was their safest one yet. He attributes that to a lot of planning.
"Our disaster management division starts planning months in advance for the start of Ultra, the minute Ultra finishes they start planning for the next year. So, we start briefing with them, Miami police will work on the unified command and it's plenty of preparation that takes quite some time but it's planned out well," he said.
Last year, over the three-day period, there were only 18 arrests. More than 120 people were treated for minor issues at the event and 48 people were taken to the hospital. Not bad for an estimated crowd of 160,000.