Emergency responders are ready for more World Cup matches

After a 15% increase in the number of trips to Seattle hospitals during World Cup festivities on a record-breaking, scorcher of a Monday, American Medical Response is staging more ambulances inside Seattle Stadium and outside the pedestrian-only perimeter for Friday's U.S. vs. Australia match.

"Monday's game was very festive. There were a lot of people celebrating. It was a hot day, so people were out here the entire day in the sun," Kurtis Dominguez, AMR's chief emergency medical services supervisor for Seattle, said Thursday from a shady patch outside the stadium's closed-off Gate 2.

Then, there were four, two-person ambulance crews inside the stadium and three more in the immediate area outside, he said. Though Dominguez didn't have the total number of patients treated or transported by AMR's EMTs, he said there were a lot of heat-related injuries, including dehydration, broken bones, sprains, cuts, bruises and bumps on the head - some of them alcohol induced.

With so many international visitors in town, there were concerns about language barriers between patients and first responders, but Dominguez said technology - specifically, translation apps - made it so crews were easily able to get basic information from patients.

Eight more ambulance crews will be added for Friday's match, with kickoff at noon, followed by an evening baseball game of the Mariners taking on the Boston Red Sox. Additional crews will be spread out across the city.

Dominguez said that officials are expecting an even larger turnout Friday and that "there's going to be a lot of people in the area, celebrating and having a good time." He encouraged both drivers and pedestrians to be aware of their surroundings because crowds often walk in the middle of streets and don't always pay attention to nearby vehicles.

Though Friday won't be quite as toasty as Monday, the National Weather Service's forecast calls for a high of 81 degrees, which could see those additional ambulance crews handling even more heat-related issues.

For anyone venturing into the sunshine, EMS offers the following safety tips:

* Hydrate early and often. Start drinking water before you arrive in the stadium district or at any outdoor watch parties and continue drinking water throughout the day.

* Take breaks in shady or cooler areas, wear light clothing and be mindful of drinking alcohol in the heat.

* Watch for signs of heat-related illnesses including dizziness, nausea, confusion, muscle cramps, fainting and vomiting. If symptoms occur, don't wait to get help.

"If you're affected by the heat, you're going to be a little bit more fatigued. You're going to be nauseous, you're going to be dehydrated," Dominguez said. "Once those symptoms start escalating to where you're getting confused or you're becoming unconscious or you are actually throwing up, those are when the cases get serious and you should call 911."

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