MDA israel

The Arad Festival is considered a must for all young Israeli rock and roll fans and for many years, thousands would flock to the southern city to enjoy the bands and culture. On the fateful night of July 18, 1995, tens of thousands of youth flocked the gates to see Mechina, the widely loved Israeli band at their last concert. 

The festival location was built to hold 18,000 and according to reports nearly 30,000 tickets were sold. Thousands were pushed inside and stood very cramped for many hours. During the event the gates fell due to the massive weight and crushed Eitan Peled (15), Chen Yitzhak (17) and Naama Elkariv (15) and led to over 100 being injured. 

MDA teams who arrived to the scene treated thousands of wounded and provided care at record breaking speeds for many hours. Dr. Shafir Botner, now the Director of the Paramedic Training School was at the time a young volunteer at the Beer Sheva Station. He recalls, "this was prior to the intifada and MDA was introduced to the concept of an MCI (mass casualty incident) which were very rare occurrences. The incidents which turned MDA into one of the most experienced organization's when handling MCIs were just beginning. 

At this time, one of the biggest festivals is being held in Arad, this is the most packed and successful in the country at the time. People were sleeping on the ground in every possible corner of the city just to be able to partake in the event. However, it is still the periphery, far from any major city and the MDA station in Arad is in proportion to that. 

Undoubtedly, the festival was the highlight of the year for MDA teams in the city, the south and around Israel. I, at the time was an MDA volunteer who had just finished 12th grade and was waiting to draft into the IDF. For me, this was the last festival before my army service with the grand event- the Mechina concert. I would not miss it!

Ready and waiting, I got on the ambulance in Beer Sheva with the EMT/driver Yaron Peretz (who today is studying in the Paramedic Training School under my supervision) and we departed to the event in Arad. On the way to the event, we began receiving reports over the radio for "what appears to be multiple victims due to over crowding at the entrance to the concert". This was not a particularly suspicious report.

As we got closer and continued driving, the reports changed and we began to realize that this was a much bigger incident with many victims. In my head, I still had that voice saying its nothing… just stress. At this time there was no cellular service so we were unable to call, there were no real time reports from the scene, there was no command and control system and we heard reports which came through only on the radio. The first shock was when we arrived to the site of the festival and found dozens of teens lying on the ground, screaming and begging for help. 

On the roof of the MCI Response Vehicle stood an MDA paramedic with a megaphone and directed EMTs and Paramedics to the wounded. I was sent to care for "a girl who fainted" and when I arrived to her, she really did seem to have fainted. I checked her level of responsiveness, breathing and pulse- non, no and no. It didn’t seem possible… I checked again and nothing. CPR? Ok. 

I began performing CPR and called for help. An additional MDA medic joined me and we worked together. Yaron then brought the ambulance and we placed the girl on the stretcher while continuing CPR. We drove as fast as possible to the main treatment area which had been set up at the MDA station in Arad. Upon arriving, we found utter chaos, EMTs and Paramedics were doing CPR on others and everyone was running around and working. Dr. Shmulik Bublik z"l, and MDA volunteer joined us and intubated her. He gave epinephrine, more compressions, more efforts until we pronounced Chen Yitzhak deceased. 

Many more wounded continued to arrive. They far outnumbered the ambulances. It was decided to place all victims classified as having minor injuries on a bus to the hospital in Beer Sheva. I had never done anything like this- it simply had never been done. I got on the bus and accompanied all the injured to the hospital. 

In EMT training we learn to do CPR, stop bleeding, or stabilize a broken limb. They also mention MCI and there is no volunteer who doesn’t want to go to the MCI course. This course is considered one of the best for Youth Volunteers and it is obvious to all that there is a very low chance of ever needing this training but if it does, you better not miss it. On that night, everything was working, the MCI response vehicle, all ambulance, all EMTs, all emergency medical responders and all bandages. On that night it was apparent that this incident was a turning point for me. An incident I would remember forever. How was it that I, barely out of high school found myself alone attempting to resuscitate a girl my own age in one of the largest disasters ever at that point, and even until now, in Israel?

Time passed, and I worked at the Arad station, I started my family there, I lived there, I served as the station manager and I even managed one of the resuscitations of the Arad Festival. Yaron is in the paramedic training program which I manage. As Mechina said in their song 'it doesn’t end, it is just the end'. It's crazy"

In the years which followed the incident, MDA's teams in the Negev Region and the Arad station managed several MCIs using the skills which they acquired in the incident detailed above. Terror attacks on the Gaza border, terror waves, rocket attacks and landings all placed the teams in complex situations but nothing, as Dr. Botner says will ever come close to this fateful incident which changed their lives forever. 

Epilog

MDA's protocols for MCIs is considered one of the best in the world and MDA teams are constantly taking part in drills to assess readiness both in Israel and abroad and help teams from around the world to handle similar situations. Even this summer in 2020, an MCI response course is taking place and will certify over 500 youth volunteers to assist in the moments following a disaster. We are hopeful that these never be used. Ever.