Thousands of people could be making their way to Erie for the Solar Eclipse. While the city prepares to welcome visitors, staff at Emergycare are preparing to handle the crowds and emergencies.


Dave Basnak, the Executive Director of Emegycare explained how they are preparing, "We are identifying alternative routes, alternative ways to get to the hospitals, finding different ways to get through the neighborhoods, that is a concern, fortunately all our equipment is mobile so if we have to, we can get on foot for where we need to go."


Officials at Emergycare said they plan to bring in more staff to make sure they are spread throughout the city in case an emergency occurs and traffic would prevent them from getting where they need to go. As Basnak explained, "We are putting additional units down by the Bayfront, our side by side unit will be able to go into crowds if need be, especially coordinating closely with the Erie Police Department to make sure we are prepared."


They also plan to have units outside the city, so they don't have to fight city traffic to get to rural communities. On a typical Monday, traffic may not be too congested, but on Monday, April 8, that could be a different story which is why Emergycare plans to have trucks set up throughout the county. "The less traveled areas where we would see less crowds when it comes to getting to those patients, so just being able to spread our assets out that day, our assets being our ambulances our paramedics, placing them on the outskirts of the city, on the outside will help with the deployment model", said Basnak.


Since Erie has never experienced an event to this caliber, they are preparing for this, like they have prepared for other large scale events. "Honestly we are utilizing Tall Ships as well, that incident, action plan, and same footprint is where we are planning on seeing a lot of the crowds just because we know where the eclipse is occurring and what it's going to do and what we can really expect a majority of people to be."


What ways can the public help Emergycare on the day of the Eclipse? Basnak said people should be vigilant and aware of their surroundings when they are out and about and if they they see something that doesn't seem right to call 911.