Emergency response teams have a unique challenge when responding to calls in the Boise foothills.
"[We have] bicycling accidents, falls from hiking," Batallion Chief David Cooper said. "But we also go on things like heat exhaustion, chest pain calls, really, any medical call you can think of, they happen up here in the foothills.
Firefighters have a new tool to reach patients on the trails: an electric motorcycle.
Boise Fire Station 1 has had a motorcycle in their arsenal for years, but never one this quiet.
"We chose to go the electric route this year mostly for environmental purposes, less noise pollution, less air pollution, so we hope to not be as impactful on the trail systems," Cooper said.
Firefighters can get to the patient in 15 to 20 minutes with the motorcycle. After they assess the situation, responders will radio back for other resources.
"We can start making a plan back here in the staging area on how it's going to be best to take that patient out," Cooper said.
From there, responders may need to deploy a four wheeler, six wheeler or call of an air ambulance.
"Really, the motorcycle is the only apparatus that we have that can both quickly get to the patient on no matter what trail they happen to be having the troubles on," Cooper said.
