More than 100 people treated for heat illness after ‘Big Boy’ train delays leave crowds stranded | Berks Regional News

MUHLENBERG TWP., Pa. — More than 100 people were treated for medical emergencies while waiting for a historic train to roll through Berks County, according to officials.

EMS crews jumped into action to help people dealing with heat-related illnesses as they waited to see Union Pacific’s Big Boy locomotive.

The train rolled into the Reading Outer Station in Muhlenberg Township a little more than an hour after it was expected. That left people standing in the extreme heat for a longer period of time.

Huge crowds of people huddled for hours in whatever shade they were able to find as they waited for the much anticipated Big Boy steam locomotive.

“They’re big, they’re cool, they’re loud, they’re fast, they’re awesome,” said Bennett Haddad, who lives in South Carolina.

First responders say they stopped tracking medical calls for heat-related emergencies on scene and began reporting them to Berks dispatch. At one, time they say there were six calls at once, including a cardiac arrest.

They ran out of ambulances to transport patients, first responders said.

Anthony Tucci, CEO of Western Berks Ambulance, said that EMS crews treated more than 100 people, and that around 45 of them were taken to the hospital. Others were treated on scene.

Ambulances responded from four counties, authorities said. EMS crews from Chester, Lancaster and Lebanon counties assisted as well. 

The cafe in the Birdsboro area is hosting a sold out party Thursday.

“There was at least 10 local fire departments that responded to help,” said Sgt. Andy Swoyer of Muhlenberg Township Police Department. “We had Tower Health’s cooling bus here. [Pennsylvania State Police] helped — they had their helicopter in the air helping us with traffic and surveying the area.”

First responders rushed from one medical call to the next.

“Because of the extreme heat, it was countless medical-related injuries. Some were transported to local hospitals. We had a lot of people self-treating,” Swoyer said. “It was a countless amount of people that were succumbing to the heat.”

“People were just waiting and waiting. The heat beating down on them. It was getting pretty brutal,” Swoyer said.

When Big Boy rolled through close to 2:30 p.m., the crowd was very excited to see it.

“It was way better [than expected],” said Caden Maslonka of Coopersburg.

Union Pacific’s Big Boy is heading to Philadelphia to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.