MIDVALE ? It's unusually quiet here at Fire Station No. 22.
Home to the Olympic Ambulance Strike Team, the station was supposed to be the hot spot for crews responding to all the worst-case scenarios Games public safety planners could conjure up.
But so far, there hasn't been one emergency call for the group of 62 specially trained paramedics and emergency responders. The strike team of six ambulances and two special trailers was ready for bleacher collapses, massive pile-ups and large-scale disasters.
Instead, it's been card games and watching the Olympics on TV.
"I've never seen a bunch of guys cheer on curling so much," joked strike team member Paul Larsen of the Midvale Fire Department.
In the weeks leading up to the Games, strike team members spent 1,600 hours driving extra fire trucks to Utah and 3,500 hours stocking trucks and ambulances with the proper equipment.
But since then, it's been "a whole bunch of sitting around," strike team leader Warren James said.
Each strike team ambulance comes equipped with $25,000 worth of equipment. A trailer capable of treating 80 trauma patients and a 40-foot semi-trailer that can become a portable, 100-bed hospital are also at their disposal. Many of the 62 crew members were also trained in disentanglement procedures in case protesters tried to disrupt the Games.
Twelve team members at a time work 24-hour shifts. The team is represented by nine fire and EMS agencies, three hospitals and one helicopter service. Crew members come from Ogden to Las Vegas, and about half a dozen foreign languages are spoken among them.
Public safety planners consider the team the perfect answer to large-scale disasters or traffic accidents since they're able to respond and relieve pressure on local agencies.
"Their whole mission in life is to basically come in and augment the agency community should they get busy," said Brian Garrett, director of Olympic fire and EMS.
But so far that hasn't happened. One of the ambulances was sent to Farmington on standby for the rodeo and another was sent to Park City recently on one of its busier event days.
Otherwise, the six ambulances that come from Wayne County, Sevier County, South Jordan, Midvale, Wendover and the state of Utah, have sat quietly inside the station.
A handful of team members mulled around the station Monday, debating if the winter storm expected to hit Salt Lake City would give them something to do. And while the crews are glad it's been slow, they realize things could change instantly. In Sydney, for example, fire and EMS crews were suddenly over-taxed on the night of closing ceremonies when thousands of people crowded into the city near Sydney Harbor. The massive crowd made for more injuries than local crews could handle.
The strike team, however, is ready for just about anything during the 2002 Winter Games.
"I can't think of very many things that would tax the system," James said. "It might take us a while to catch up, but we're ready for the worst."
E-MAIL: djensen@desnews.com