Prescott Fire Dept.: 60 people treated for heat-related illness at Trump rally

Prescott Fire reports13 transported to YRMC

PRESCOTT - Temperatures approaching 90 degrees, coupled with little shade and long lines, spelled medical trouble for dozens of attendees at the re-election campaign rally for President Donald Trump in Prescott last week.

Scott Luedeman, division chief for the Prescott Fire Department, reported that, 60 people, in all, were treated at the Prescott Regional Airport rally Monday, Oct. 19, and 13 of those were transported to the hospital.

Gates for the event opened at 9 a.m. Monday, and many of the attendees showed up early, walked to the event, stood in screening lines, and then waited behind barricades for Trump to arrive.

By the time the president took the stage at just after noon Monday, many of the more than 15,000 attendees had already been standing in the sun for several hours.

Temperatures were reported to be in the mid-to-high 80s by early afternoon.

The Prescott Fire Department and Life Line Ambulance crews had set up at the site beforehand to deal with possible medical cases.

Still, Luedeman said, “Our numbers were way more than we were anticipating. Sixty people were actually looked after.”

He noted that none of the cases were life-threatening, and most, if not all, were related to exposure to the heat.

Most people who sought treatment were feeling dizziness, weakness, or “felt they were unable to walk back out,” Luedeman said.

Along with the heat, he attributed part of the issue to Prescott’s high elevation, which at nearly 5,400 feet, compares with 1,100 feet or so in Phoenix, where many of the attendees traveled from.

For the majority of the patients, Luedeman said, “We did a quick assessment, got them some water, and had them rest in the shade.”

For 13 of the patients, however, a trip to the hospital was deemed necessary – either by the Fire Department staff, or at the request of the patients.

“The ambulances were rotating in there all day,” Luedeman said, adding, “There were no life-threatening injuries that presented.”

About a dozen crew members were on hand throughout the day, staffing a fire engine, a medic unit, and an ambulance inside the event.

In addition, the Prescott Police Department had a contingent of officers helping the Secret Service with security, as well as with the medical emergencies and the traffic flow at the event.

Lt. Jon Brambila, the department’s public information officer, declined to comment on the number of officers that were on hand to help with the event, but he said, “Normal operations here were not impacted.”

Brambila added that there were no criminal acts, altercations, or traffic accidents reported at or around the rally.

Under the contract between the city and the Trump campaign, Prescott Community Outreach Manager John Heiney said the various city departments would be compiling invoices to be sent to the campaign to cover the cost of city personnel at the event.