Cycling paramedics offering a mobile rapid-response service in the Comox Valley are being joined by firefighters eager to help them help people at community events.

The paramedics, volunteering their time outside their paid duties with the B.C. Ambulance Service, have been present at several events, spokesman Bill Coltart said Sunday during The Big Time Out music festival in Cumberland.

“We were able to make Nautical Days (in Comox) on the August long weekend our first event,” said Coltart. “We were able to get the truck ready and bicycles decaled up and ready for the parade,” he said, adding with a smile that the group won a prize in the parade.

He estimated the group has put in almost 300 man hours in the first three weeks of August.

Twenty-two paramedics have expressed interest plus some firefighters who have some medical training.

Thrifty Foods is an early sponsor, but not the only one. Coast Country Insurance donated insurance for a truck donated by Comox Valley Dodge.

“Our main goal now is to pay back some of the loans given for purchase of valuable medical equipment and uniforms during which we will be fundraising primarily through corporate donations,” he said.

“Any additional funds raised will be used for head injury and helmet education projects in conjunction with the Comox Valley Head Injury Society.”

The paramedics could use more help to double the two bicycles they currently have, and they want to have a second defibrillator to stabilize heartbeats.

So far, ambulances have responded six times to patients the volunteers have been treating, Coltart said.

When they’re at a large event such as The Big Time Out on their bikes, they “can be anywhere on this site in a matter of a minute or two and begin critical life-saving treatments immediately until an ambulance is able to arrive.”

The volunteer paramedics have put their money where their mouths are, paying $160 or more each for uniforms.

“The fact we have this much support from our members shows there’s a keen interest in the community,” Coltart remarked.

The community seems to reciprocate by expressing interest in the new service in the Valley. The group, said Coltart, is already getting requests to be at events in 2008.

Besides treating sick or injured people, the group is co-operating with the Comox Valley Head Injury Society to encourage youth to wear helmets when they cycle.

Businesses, said Coltart, are providing coupons to reward young people who wear helmets. The paramedics, added Coltart, are looking forward to getting into the schools to increase helmet awareness.

He also mused about expanding operations to skiing “because helmets are important not just on the road but in all kinds of different sports.”

For more information or to donate, call Coltart at 338-3219 or e-mail info@bikesquad.ca.