Before fans even knew the Carolina Hurricanes would be bringing the Stanley Cup home, first responders were already planning for a championship parade.
Wake County EMS told WRAL it has been working with the City of Raleigh and other partners for weeks to prepare for Saturday's championship parade.
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The parade route will run through downtown Raleigh, starting at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Wake County EMS Special Operations Commander Candice Carter said responders will be located throughout the route to help keep the public safe.
“We will have several ambulances, several teams on foot, teams on golf carts, and we'll also have our multiple patient bus staged out there as well tomorrow,” Carter said.
Carter said planning for the possibility of a championship parade began weeks ago.
“That planning was in place, regardless of if they won or lost. We just didn't have an exact date until they actually won on Sunday night,” Carter said.
The Wake County multiple-patient bus will be located on Fayetteville Street. The larger EMS vehicle allows crews to care for multiple people at one time.
One of the biggest priorities for emergency officials has been ensuring parade coverage does not affect day-to-day emergency response across the rest of Wake County.
“All of the resources we will have at the parade and the festival tomorrow are extra,” Carter said. “They were not pulling from the on-duty side. Everything that is normal for today's operations will be happening tomorrow as well.”
Carter said two ambulances will be dedicated to parade coverage, but they are not being pulled from 911 on-duty operations. She said other EMS units across Wake County would only be called in if a large-scale emergency during Saturday's celebration required additional support.
Wake County EMS said it has the necessary staffing internally to cover the event without relying on neighboring counties.
“We did not do any mutual aid for this. Several of our large-scale events, we do pull in mutual aid from other counties and we assist them as well, but this is all internal,” Carter said. “Raleigh Fire Department will have some teams out there, so there's collaboration with local partners.”
Carter advised fans to wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing when possible and to limit alcohol consumption with high temperatures expected.
“The biggest advice I can give is to start hydrating now and preparing for tomorrow with water and those electrolyte beverages,” Carter said. “Seek shade whenever possible.”
The emergency official warned temperatures on the ground during the parade are likely to be much higher than forecast temperatures.
“The asphalt specifically and the concrete radiates the heat and it radiates upward, and that can really get high into the 140s even,” Carter cautioned. “It may not just be coming from the sun, it may be coming from underneath you as well. And with anticipating crowds of 100,000 or more, that's just going to be a crowd full of heat.”
Carter said fans should watch for signs of heat-related illness, including dizziness, lightheadedness, weakness, muscle cramps, excessive sweating or a sudden lack of sweating.
The Wake County EMS official also shared the City of Raleigh is anticipated to set up water bottle refill stations for the public.