FAYETTEVILLE, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Thousands will gather on the New River Gorge Bridge Saturday for the largest single-day festival in the State of West Virginia, Bridge Day.
Every third Saturday in October, for a brief period, the New River Gorge Bridge effectively becomes what is simultaneously the smallest and most densely populated city in West Virginia.
With such an abundance of residents in what is, relatively speaking, a fairly confined space, safety risks are increased exponentially – and this is without even taking into consideration that people show up in droves to literally jump off of the bridge.
With an estimated 100,000 attendees coming out for single events in recent years, the assurance of the safety and care of each and every guest is a tremendous responsibility, and one that falls on the shoulders of a single EMS provider: Jan-Care Ambulance Service.
It’s a responsibility that the provider – first established in 1970 by founder Rick Cornett – doesn’t take lightly, and Jan Director of Operations Paul Seamann has been at the bottom of the New River Gorge Bridge each year since Bridge Day’s introduction in 1980 as Safety Director to ensure that that responsibility is upheld.
“With 43 states represented, we want to be that host that says, ‘you can come to the wild of Southern West Virginia and we’ve got you, you’re going to be protected’’ says Seamann who, this weekend, will partake in his 41st Bridge Day as Safety Director.
“What Jan-Care does is we dedicate 18 additional ambulances just for Bridge Day coverage, along with 52 personnel,” he says. “We set up an entire dispatch center, a Bridge Day command center, and we operate that as a separate entity.”
Despite the vast workload that comes with providing exclusive medical coverage for the entirety of the Bridge Day festivities each year, the provider’s standard coverage throughout the state – and beyond – remains a priority for Jan-Care.
“It’s important to note that we do not shut down any single ambulance,” Seamann says. “So anyone that lives in Southern West Virginia will have full access to our ambulances. The ones [utilized for Bridge Day] are in addition to our normal staffing.”
The execution of such a task requires a genuine team effort, and many EMS personnel covering Bridge Day are employees picking up extra shifts, employees who would normally be off-duty, or management personnel stepping out on the front lines to assist in bearing the load.
“Jan-Care has a total of 150 emergency vehicles,” he explains. “We operate around 80 to 100 per day, so we do have the capacity to take on events like this.”
Seamann goes into detail about the measures taken by Jan-Care each year to ensure that the event goes off without a hitch.
This involves spreading out to cover different areas, namely, the bridge itself and the landing area below.
“We split our ambulances between those dedicated to the top for the spectators and, of course, our rescue ambulances at the bottom,” he explains.
“With 100,000 people on the bridge, typically we’re going to have 8 or 10 medical transports from the crowd. These can be minor situations such as chest pain or diabetic issues. We’ve had people with bee stings that went into anaphylaxis.”
“We have rescue teams on both sides of the river,” he continues. “What we do at the bottom is set up a hospital tent, and we will have two of Jan-Care’s medical director physicians. We work with the National Parks Service and Dragan Diversified, [and] we all work as a collaborative team.”
One of the biggest risks of participation in the local tradition comes, of course, from the descent from the bridge itself.
“The reason EMS is so involved, and we believe it’s an honor, is because these are tremendous athletes and they’re doing something they enjoy doing,” Seamann explains.
“Southern West Virginia hosts people from up to 43 states and from up to ten different countries [at Bridge Day each year,] and if something unfortunate happens we are there to immediately assist them. We’ve treated people from different countries around the world.”
While precautions are taken to ensure that most jumps and landings are executed seamlessly, a number of hiccups are inevitable each year.
“Of 600 jumps probably 30% will land in the river,” says Seamann. “The Landing zone is about the size of a tennis court. Beyond that it’s [essentially] rock, tree, river.”
“We’ll generally get five or ten [jumpers] whose chute canopies will snag in the trees, and we have different rescue techniques to go and get them down. The most prevalent rock[-based] injuries [are sustained in the] ankles or lower legs – often from wind gusts that may change landing upon final approach. There have been collisions with boulders that line the river. We do an immediate assessment in the hospital tents.”
Despite the challenges presented in the protection of such a vast array of individuals – primarily in a single, generally contained area – Jan-Care Ambulance Service assures that they will be up to the task each and every year.
“We can provide the care you’re going to get from the biggest cities in the world, and that’s what we strive to do each year.”
Bridge Day will take place Saturday, October 15th, 2022 at the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, West Virginia. General Bridge Day information, along with answers to frequently asked questions, can be found through the Bridge Day Information Guide.
Additional LOOTPRESS coverage of Bridge Day can be found here.
Shuttle information, event schedules, and general guidelines for Bridge Day per the official Bridge Day website can be seen below.
2022 Bridge Day Shuttles can be found at the following locations:
South – Fayette Landing Shopping Center
565 Mall Rd Oak Hill, WV 25901
The bus stop will be located on the south side of the median just past AT&T, at the far end of the median from the store.
South – Fayetteville Wal-Mart
204 Town Center Fayetteville WV 25840
The bus stop will be located at the far left side of WalMart.
South – Fayetteville High School
515 W Maple Ave Fayetteville, WV 25840
The bus stop is right at the entrance to the gravel parking area. The buses turn around in front of the school and stop to pick up at the entrance to the upper gravel area.
South – Fayetteville Court House
100 N Court St Fayetteville, WV 25840
The bus stop will be across from the Court House on Maple Avenue in front of Marathon Bicycle and Southside Junction.
North – Smales Branch Road
1175 Smales Branch Rd Hico, WV 25854
The bus will stop in front of the Lighthouse Worship Center.
North – Midland Trail High School
Intersection of Route 19 & U S Route 60 Hico, WV 25854
The bus will stop at the school parking lot.
2022 Bridge Day Schedule of Events:
5:30 AM: Vendors arrive at designated staging lots
7:00 AM: Route 19 closes to traffic. Detour begins
7:15 AM: ASWV’s Bridge Day 5K Racers arrive at designated pickup spots
8:30 AM: Shuttles begin at designated lots
9:00 AM: Bridge Day Begins
9:00 AM: Bridge Day 5K Race begins
9:00 AM: Into the Gorge Bus Rides start (pre-sold tickets only)
1:30 PM: Into the Gorge Bus Rides end
2:00 PM: Bridge Day Chili Cookoff in Downtown Fayetteville
3:00 PM: Bridge Day ends
5:00 PM: Route 19 re-opens, detour ends
Evening events occurring at Adventures On The Gorge, River Expeditions, Ace Adventure Resort and The Outpost at New River Gorge
2022 Bridge Day Guidelines:
No Dogs
No Coolers or Folding Chairs
No Bicycles, Skates, Skateboards, or Wagons
No Weapons, Fireworks, Illegal Drugs, or Alcoholic Beverages
No Quadcopters or Drones
Prohibited Bags: Backpacks, Tote Bags, Large Purses, Camera Bags, Binocular Cases
Approved Bags: Clear Backpacks, Clear Tote Bags, Fanny Packs, Purses or Clutches Smaller Than 5”x7”
All Bags Will Be Subject To Search