STURGIS, S.D. (KELO) — Sturgis Fire & EMS ambulance director Shawn Fischer feels called to do her work.
“This is where my heart is,” Fischer said. “My heart’s been in EMS from day one. I enjoy helping the public, that is what I’ve always strived to do. And you don’t always have a positive outcome.”
She knows that all too well. Her late husband Dave was assistant fire chief and lost his life responding to a house fire in 2018.
“Always, you are there to help a loved one,” Fischer said. “If the loved one is deceased, you’re still there for the patient’s family.”
When it comes to the rally, the work is busy.
“We average, the rest of the year, six calls per day,” Fischer said. “Right now we’re averaging anywhere from 12 to 25 calls a day.”
For Sturgis Volunteer Fire Department Chief Scott Lensegrav, the sheer number of people on the road during the rally is a concern.
“Traffic really gets congested around here, so that makes a big issue for the, all our first responders,” Lensegrav said.
“There was lot of traffic yesterday, so I was managing traffic and the EMTs, the medical technicians, were working a patient, so everybody’s working together,” said Maggie Brown, a firefighter with Doty Volunteer Fire Department. “They just know their roles.”
And good luck trying to predict the direction a call might go.
“We’ve had motorcycle accidents, intoxications, heart attacks, seizures, cardiac arrests, pretty much everything, and that is what’s so crazy about the Sturgis rally is you can not predict what one day is going to bring,” Fischer said.
No matter the call, there’s a collective push to be here for the visiting bikers.
“Whether they’re manning their stations or they’re staying super close to the station, everybody is giving up their week to be a part of the rally and help those that are here visiting,” Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department Gail Schmidt said.
“This is what all first responders train for,” Brown said. “The EMTs train for this, and the support people such as myself, we train for it.”
