Medics may get faster ride

Mayor Greg Nickels wants to lease four specially equipped motorcycles to help medics weave their way through downtown traffic.

About a dozen firefighter medics would be trained to operate the motorcycles, which would carry at least sufficient gear to respond to one critically ill patient, including defibrillators, drugs and small oxygen tanks.

Nickels said he'll propose paying for the $570,000 two-year pilot project within his 2008 city budget recommendation, which is expected Monday afternoon. A standard medic unit costs $1.3 million annually to operate -- about twice as much as the pilot program.

The Fire Department plans to have two medics working as a team from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, officials said. They'd focus on downtown areas and would be deployed along with a regular medic unit.

The idea is, they could get to emergency scenes faster and stabilize patients while the larger units travel through traffic.

"Whenever traffic backs up, no matter how much we use our siren, there's no where to go," fire Chief Gregory Dean said.

Dean said it's too early to predict how much more quickly the motorcycle units might get to an accident or incident.

Miami and Pittsburgh are among the U.S. cites that also use motorcycle medics. Motorcycles also are used to deliver medical services in Great Britain, the Middle East and Asia.

Fire officials acknowledged that motorcycles themselves carry risks for the medics but said riders would be trained to avoid collisions.

Also, they would be given vests that blow up like air bags whenever the rider suddenly leaves the bikes.

The mayor will his 2008 budget proposal to the City Council on Monday.

MOTORCYCLE MEDICS

Under Mayor Greg Nickels' proposal, four leased motorcycles would carry paramedics around Seattle.

The two-year pilot program would cost $570,000. Operating a standard medic unit costs $1.3 million annually.

The motorcycles would carry enough gear -- including oxygen tanks and defibrillators -- to treat one critically injured person.

Motorcycle medics are used in places such as Miami; Pittsburgh; Nantucket, Mass.; Daytona Beach, Fla.; and Taylor, Mich.