Chatham Emergency Services prepare for the night of St. Patrick’s Day

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day parade may be finished but the festivities are far from over.

Emergency response teams are on standby in a number of areas downtown.

The CEO of Chatham Emergency Services said so far there have been more than 20 EMS responses and about 10 people sent to the hospital including a man who fell off a float during the parade. That person was trauma alerted to the hospital.

As the celebrations continue, there are more than 200 clinicians around downtown to make sure these big crowds are taken care of in case of an emergency.

“We doubled up our staff and now we have several units posted downtown.”

Many of the paramedics were on foot so they could assist quickly in situations like a fall from a float until an ambulance arrives.

“We have the foot teams and the gators and they’re easier to move through there and maybe get the patient out.”

And with more than 100,000 people here...

Captain Thomas Herndon says as the night crowd comes out, they expect to have multiple calls of falls and assaults.

“Last year, opening it back up, it wasn’t that bad. Last year had a few but this year probably going to be a few more months. It’ll probably get a little crazy tonight.”

The majority of the calls they’ve already responded to were of people unconscious.

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