By Cathy Spaulding
Crews from Muskogee Emergency Medical Service are in the ice-packed cities of Altus and Lawton, offering relief and medical care for tired emergency personnel.
The crews left shortly before noon Monday to make the drive to the southwest corner of the state. Laurel Havens, the strike team leader, said the crews included five paramedics and an intermediate emergency medical technician in two ambulances. Havens said one ambulance went to a shelter in Altus, the other to a Lawton shelter.
Lawton and other parts of Comanche County remained in the grips of a crippling ice storm Monday. The Lawton Constitution Web site said 21,272 Comanche County residents were without electric power and 132 residents stayed at an American Red Cross shelter Sunday evening.
Emergency service in Muskogee County will not be affected, said Rebecca B. Smith, public relations coordinator with Muskogee County EMS.
“We have 20 ambulances on our fleet and usually have 12 to 13 ambulances on duty,” she said. “We use back-line equipment.”
Havens said the Muskogee emergency crews were put on standby Saturday and received a call to roll out to Lawton at about 10 a.m.
Lawton-area emergency crews worked through the weekend and need relief, Havens said. “The hospitals there are on back-up electricity.”
“Those crews worked 72 hours with no electricity and no sleep,” Smith said.
Muskogee Team supervisor Jordan Stevens said the team is setting up at a shelter at Cameron Baptist Church in Lawton.
“We’ll set up medical supplies for breathing treatment,” he said. “We have everything we can possibly need.”
Stevens and other crew members spent Monday morning loading the ambulances with personal duffel bags and other supplies.
Smith said the Muskogee crew brought enough supplies for 72 hours.
However, Havens said he expects the Muskogee crew to work 24- to 48-hour shifts
“We have another shift that will rotate them out if needed,” Havens said.
