New ice bag technique helping save lives in Sunland Park, fire chief says

SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico (KVIA) -- Sunland Park Fire Chief Daniel Medrano is crediting a new technique with helping save additional lives in the desert. 

In May, the small department introduced the ice bag technique to assist patients suffering from heat-related illnesses. 

Each summer, SPFD receives dozens of calls from people suffering from heat stroke or heat exhaustion. Many of them are migrants who have just crossed the border into the United States. Some are often alone, very weak and dehydrated. 

The chief said that during many summer days the temperature in our area reaches 110 degrees Fahrenheit, but the sand can reach 150 degrees. 

Medrano said this year, so far, the department has responded to 30 body recoveries. 

Shortly after introducing the program, the department was able to use it firsthand on a patient. 

"We actually saved this young lady's life. We are able to convert her body temperature down to an acceptable range. And she survived, which is a success. You know, we were hesitant at first. It was a new technique, and we weren't sure if it was going to work, but it worked really well. She was completely unconscious when she presented," Chief Medrano told ABC-7. 

Firefighters place the patient in a body bag and then fill it with water and ice in an effort to try to bring down their body temperature. 

Chief Medrano said the patient usually stays inside the bag for 30 minutes. He said the method can work in as quickly as 10 to 15 minutes. 

He said they have been able to lower a patient's temperature from 107 degrees to 103. 

"Doctors were baffled because we hadn't really told the emergency departments the kind of procedures we were doing. So when we took this poor girl in a body bag full of ice, they didn't know what to make of it at first. And now it's, it's common practice," he said. 

The chief said they have used the innovative method about 30 times in the last three months, and a handful of them have been successful.

"We anticipated we were going to use it, but not as much," he said. 

The department decided to introduce the idea after receiving a large number of heat exhaustion calls last year, many of them later turning into body recoveries. Chief Medrano first learned of this concept from a news article from Phoenix.

"Just based on the numbers last year, we had so many deaths in this area, so many heat exhaustion, we weren't sure if those deaths were preventable or if we could have done something about it," he said. 

Medrano said he has received much feedback from the medical community since the method's inception. 

"For doctors and nurses who hadn’t seen it before, they didn't know what to make of it. It was, it was interesting. I have had some doctors actually approach me and said, you know, 'What's going on?' Several of them were shocked. The ambulance, private ambulance service here, when we first did it, they were baffled by what we're doing."

Chief Medrano also explained the ice bath method isn't expensive. The department invested in an ice machine and ice bags, making it cost-effective. He said his crews carry around an ice chest with several pounds of ice and water that are ready to be used at a moment's notice. 

Although Chief Medrano said there are risks involved, they will continue to use this method. 

"Just for the lives that we know you've saved, it's been worth it, you know?"

The chief said many other fire departments in the Southwest have reached out to him inquiring about the method. He believes this is a method that other first responders should look into.