BOUNTIFUL—Warm weather is finally here and that brings out hikers and bikers. The South Davis Metro Fire Department has seen a jump in trail rescues as people get outdoors to recreate. To make the response time quicker, the department recently purchased two e-bikes that can fit on those one track trails.

“We noticed a surge in mountain rescue calls during the pandemic and post pandemic as well,” said EMS Division Chief, Jeff Larsen. “We have side-by-sides and utility vehicles but we can’t get those up a single track trail like Mueller Park. There’s no good way to access patients quickly.”

It can take 45 minutes to get somebody out, he said. “We need to get someone with the patient and have eyes and hands on the patient quickly then work with search and rescue to get them off the mountain.”

Larsen said they had discussions with Davis County Search and Rescue and talked about solutions. “We started doing some research online and found a YouTube video about styles that are built specially for search and rescue, law enforcement and first responders to get a quicker response and service for the community.”

South Davis Metro Firefighters Adam Christensen, Engineer and Emiliano Padilla, Firefighter try out new gear near Tunnel Springs Park in North Salt Lake. The equipment is just a week old and they are excited to train on it.

                                                                                     Photo by Roger V. Tuttle

They found a local company that had done this type of design for other organizations, he said. “Bakcou bikes designs the bikes specifically for what we need.”

The bikes are outfitted with a saddle type bag with equipment to perform minimal care until rescuers can get to them, said Larsen. “The bikes have a rack system to carry equipment. It also has a bulky frame with a longer battery life and trail system tires.”

There are 14 different speeds and it doesn’t have a derailleur, he said. “It’s built into a hub in the back wheel so it can go over rocks, etc. It’s ideal for our needs.”

A rescue is labor intensive, said Larsen. “It takes about three hours for an extraction. The bikes will get us there more quickly to get the help the patient needs and cut down on the time historically that we would have taken to get to them.”

Once everybody is trained the bikes will be placed at the Maple Hills station, he said. “That is where there is a high number of single track trails like Mueller Park, Holbrook and Tunnel Springs.”

Just on the Mueller Park trail there’s an incredible amount of people up there, he said. “It’s a high usage trail system.”

The high frequency of hikers and bikers is only going to increase in the area, Larsen said. “Several times a month we have rescues. We encourage people to use safety, caution and ride on trails you’re familiar with at your experience level.” 

Larsen said they’re always happy to help those in need. “But it’s a long drawn out process for a rescue.”