Earth Day celebrations bring crowds and precautions to Downtown Columbia
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Downtown Columbia saw significant crowds and street closures in honor of Earth Day. Streets were shut down from 6:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. Sunday.
Thousands gathered in downtown Columbia Sunday to celebrate Earth Day. Both the Columbia Fire Department and MU Health Care were present, ready to respond to any emergencies that might arise.
"We are here in case of emergency at the Earth Day Festival, of course. So if an incident does happen here today. We also have the fire department here as well. Most of them are EMTs and able to help us," said Paramedic William Schneider.
Organizers had basic first aid kits available for attendees, with additional medical assistance from MU Healthcare or the Columbia Fire Department.
"So just generally with this many people here, especially if there's any older population here that may have other health issues, they may suddenly have a heart attack or stroke," Schneider said. "Events like this walking a lot. You look at like fainting episodes, people maybe being dehydrated."
According to the Earth Day safety plan, individuals were advised to remain calm in case of an accident, notify a staff member, provide their location, and stay with any injured persons until help arrived.
"We were told that if we were to see anything while we were on watch, to go back to our booth and just let them know what's going on. Have 9-1-1 on stand-by if it's that serious and just let the people around us know," said volunteer Maggie Culver.
To report any complaints or concerns from Sunday's Earth Day, please visit here.
