Kane Plans Emergency Biker Team

Tribune staff reporter --

Jan 9, 2008 --

By William Presecky

Tribune staff reporter

Published October 3, 2006

A Kane County agency is looking for volunteers to rev up their motorcycles to help in emergencies.

The Kane County Medical Reserve Corps, in a program that is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, is trying to recruit riders as volunteers to help in natural disasters or terrorist attacks.

The program, called "Rescue Riders," recruits bikers who could help the county respond to disasters where four-wheel vehicles are not practical or available.

"In essence we're a taxi service, and we will go wherever and whenever we are needed," said Dean Akey, a St. Charles business owner and founder of the Rescue Riders program and Biker4Biker organization, a non-profit support group for area motorcyclists that developed the training program.

The volunteer bikers, trained in CPR, first aid and emergency response, will help transport supplies and other volunteers during natural disasters or terrorist attacks.

The first of what is expected to be an ongoing series of training sessions is set for Thursday in St. Charles.

Medical Reserve Corps coordinator Patrick DeMoon said the inaugural training session, which is filled, is limited to 14 bikers. "The potential is for several hundred bikers to be trained later on," said DeMoon.

The corps, a unit of the county's Board of Health, is composed of hundreds of volunteers, including doctors, dentists, nurses, veterinarians, pharmacists and community residents.

The corps started in 2002 as part of the federal government's USA Freedom Corps. There are about 22 corps units in Illinois, with Kane County's being among the first in the nation.

The program is a partner with Citizen Corps, a national network of volunteers dedicated to ensuring hometown security.

Akey said the Rescue Riders program is intended to serve as a template for others.

"There is far more application for this than just Kane County, so we're putting together a [training] program that any other county or any other municipality, can duplicate elsewhere," Akey said.

Akey said the Rescue Riders training program is unique in that the bikers would earn credentials. He said the idea was sparked by bikers who tried to offer help after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"There was an outpouring of support from people that wanted to help and they tried [unsuccessfully] to get into New York," he said.

"None or most of them were not credentialed and the police and firemen ... were turning most of them away. Now, if there is a need anywhere, we will have credentialed people who have emergency-response training, and the authorities will know they are supposed to be there," he said.

Applications are available via the Health Department's Web site, at http://www.kanehealth.com.



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bpresecky@tribune.com