MEDIC brings mass casualty bus to Uptown for Club World Cup match in extreme heat

CHARLOTTE, N.C – Triple digit heat sets over Charlotte where tens of thousands of people sat under the sun on the hottest day of the year so far for a big soccer match at Bank of America stadium.

“We came prepared, the hat, the fans, the wet towels but it was just blowing hot air out here,” Bayern Munich fan, Jill Jenkins, said.

Some soccer lovers say ticket prices for the FIFA Club World Cup match between Benfica and Bayern Munich were too tempting to miss despite the temperature.

“We got some cheap tickets and wanted to see a good game, and we got the best game we could find,” Hunter Baker, soccer fan said. “Two very top teams going against each other, and there are some legends playing, and it’s a good experience to see them all playing together in North Carolina.”

Higher temperatures increase health risks. The MEDIC mass casualty bus sits a block away from the stadium bringing paramedics to the people.

“By having the UTVs here, by having the mass casualty bus, by having our firefighter partners as well on their UTVs, it prepares us if things get bad,” Lester Oliva, MEDIC Paramedic Crew Chief said.

Outside felt like an oven, but inside the bus it feels like a fridge with the supplies necessary to handle emergencies. Prolonged time outside can lead to heat stroke.

“Our friends in the construction industry are prone to having heat emergencies, those that have underlying medical conditions, that have heart problems, these things can make their day more difficult than for others,” Oliva said.

For some soccer fans, the heat forced a forfeit, many escaped the inferno before halftime.

“We’re just going to burn to death out here, so we’re like, we got to go home and watch it on TV,” Jill Jenkins said.

The MEDIC mass casualty bus can treat up to 20 patients at a time. It will be in Uptown for the next Club World Cup match between Benfica and Chelsea on Saturday, June 28.