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Formula 1 Track Shows Off Race Day Emergency Plan

Updated: Wednesday, November 14 2012, 09:37 AM CST

On Tuesday, first responders showed off one of the skills they've picked up that's unique to racing: How to pull an injured driver out of a race car. 

The Circuit of the Americas has all the tools they'll need and they'll have plenty of medical staff on hand all race weekend.  With surgeons, E.R. physicians and nurses out there, we had to wonder if the emergency room at University Medical Center Brackenridge might somehow be left short-staffed.  COTA Director of MEdical Services Dr. Stephen Olvey reassured us, "No.  We've got people working on their off days.  So Brackenridge is fully staffed throughout the weekend."

The first responders are clearly setup for any emergency that may come up on the track.  But they tell me they're also setup for any problems that may arise in the grandstands and beyond.  Travis County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Adan Torres says, "It's something that we already have a plan for.  The major consideration that we took out here was getting all those resources centralized so that we don't have reach out to other units whether they were in the city or other parts of the county."

One set of resources is centralized around the track itself and another set will be just outside the gates to protect neighboring areas.  Division Chief James Hawley from Austin-Travis County EMS says, "Both EMS and fire has pre-staged additional apparatus to ensure that there's no delayed responses to the 911 community surrounding this area.  That's been a priority for us and Chief Torres's department the entire time."

Their plan will soon be tested.  The onsite ER will open for business Thursday morning.  And the crowds will arrive on Friday.

By Fred CantuFormula 1 Track Shows Off Race Day Emergency Plan