Heat leads to several medical calls on opening day of Missouri State Fair

SEDALIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Saftey crews at the Missouri State Fair say they are prepared for storms that are expected to roll through Sedalia this weekend. 

Roughly 11,000 people flocked to the Missouri State Fair to see Lainey Wilson on Friday expanding the population of Sediala expanded to over 30 thousand people. That’s an extra strain that Bothwell Hospital can’t handle on its own. 

That’s where the Missouri firefighters association and Master Medical Assistance team come in. 

The Missouri Firefighters Association has been using volunteers and equipment donations from stations across the state to man the fair for the last 61 years. There are few operations like it anywhere in the United States.  They respond to emergency calls and transport people to the  Master Medical Assistance team. 

The rapid response team uses events like the fair for practice in case of emergencies such as the Joplin tornado where they are needed on the ground.  

Inside their medical tents, they can do everything from stitches to X-rays. Director of Missouri Emergency Management Jim Remillard tells abc 17 that at last year's fair, they saved two people's lives. 

This year their main source of trouble has been the heat

On Thursday alone, crews dealt with 17 emergency calls due to the heat.

"People are not drinking water and getting dehydrated," Egan said. "You're walking it's hot. A lot of people don't pay attention to that. You kind of forget how hot you get walking at the fair."

Safety teams at the fair are also ready for other types of weather. The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team issued a Weather Alert Day for storm chances Friday and was tracking the potential for more storms Sunday.

State Emergency Management Director Jim Remillard said officials had phone calls with the National Weather Service throughout the day on Friday and that if storms had formed then emergency action plans would have been enacted.

The Rapid Response Team's control trailer includes an advanced communication system and radar.

Chief Medical Officer Brian Froelke said first responders at the fair are prepared to deal with storms.

"Many times we will, depending on the type of wind, we have a variety of different hardened shelters we can move medical resources to if we need to or shelter in place then reopen the capabilities once the storms blow over," Froelke said.

The fair runs through Aug. 20.