EMS at Burning Man 2023
One month laterBy Jason Kotas
EMS Outreach and Education Program Manager at Children’s Hospital Colorado
It’s been 30 days since I returned from Black Rock City and my experience serving as a medic for Burning Man. I’ve been trying to process what happened and to find just the right words to describe what “it” was like. The fact is, there simply are no words and the topic of how to explain what we were experiencing was a common topic on the playa.
It was all the things. A choose-your-own-adventure city of 80,000 in the desert. I was so honored to be let into the family of Rebel Camp (comprising of about 60 medical volunteers from around the country) and for my field training experience (officially and non-officially) from Bob and Odie.
There was the magic, the lights, the gifting, the mud, the lasers, the dancing, the hugs, the surprises and the heat. But what continued to surface for me was the people. It was a community of 80,000 people from all over the world that came together to celebrate art, love, life, our planet and each other.
I worked four, eight-hour shifts on a quick response vehicle that was the tip of the spear for any medical calls within the entire city. I didn’t run one call for assault or violence (and everyone is on drugs)! My EMS and ED colleagues understand the absurdity of that stat.
Everyone was open and no one cared what you looked like or what you did. Total acceptance and respect. There wasn’t a damn thing for sale and we were allowed the time and space to think, to breathe, to be uncomfortable, to find a way, to smile and experience pure magic.
Thanks #burningman. You’re far from perfect but for one week this summer camp for misfits was everything we all needed.
The playa shall provide!
My lesson this year.
Now that I have officially “re-entered” my normal life after spending my 3rd year working with ESD (Emergency Services Department) as a QRV Medic at Burning Man, I have a few thoughts I would like to share…
When I share with people that I attended Burning Man I usually get one of two reactions. The first is a very puzzled look and I immediately know they have no idea what the hell it is. The other look is more noticeable as their eyes immediately open wide and their questions start to flow. By far the most common question is “How was it’? All in good intentions, however, there is a great deal of irony within that question that is much deeper. My usual response is AMAZING as they think I am speaking about being at Burning Man. That can not be farther from the truth. Each year I am fortunate enough to bring back a lesson I feel the world is attempting to teach me. This year was no exception! I am safe to say my lesson this year is quite profound. Let me take you on the journey.
Preparation starts many months in advance as Burning Man (The org) gives you many hoops to jump through even to be a volunteer. Uploading certificates, photos of yourself, camp alignment and scheduling your shifts. Seems easy however, there are several websites and real no 1-2-3 guides. Perhaps an ex-IKEA direction writer is behind the scenes, I don’t know! Either way, you will have many “hoops” to jump through and you really have no idea where you are in the process until one day your ticket and vehicle pass arrive via email.
Each year people approach me and say “I want to go” This year was special because first, I would be returning with one of my greatest friends whom I also get to work with at the fire department each and every day. Love ya, Bob! I consider spending time with Bob a blessing and am lucky to navigate this journey with him each year. Secondly, There were two new people who had expressed interest and jumped through the org’s hoops. Their own excitement about what to expect is contagious! It is almost like helping your 8-year-old pack for summer camp. Zoom calls, text messages and all interactions are like having a new puppy. I hope no offense Jason and Andres.
Prior to this journey, I knew both Jason and Andres professionally and after this journey, I consider them lifelong friends who mean a great deal to me and I will forever cherish my time spent with them.
In the weeks prior to going to Burning Man, you will notice an uptick on your Amazon account as your cart will be filled with bike lights, tutus, adult-size animal onesies and something between pirate and mad-max outfits. This will usually prompt some explaining to do with your significant other as the packages start to roll in. Not having a leather allergy is a plus!
The week before you gather your travel companions and head to Costco and hit a few thrift stores for some last-minute must haves! Then you maintain all your equipment, bikes, oil changes, fuel filters, and generators to make sure all is in running order for the journey. After all it would suck to have any problems.
The day before everyone drops off everything they will need for eight days in the desert anticipating an early departure the next morning means a good night sleep.
0500 the next morning all passengers arrive and we depart for our 18 hour drive. Goal is to reach the gates by midnight, get a few hours sleep and then help set up Rebel Camp. Rebel Camp is composed of great people around the world including doctors, paramedics, nurses, EMTs and firefighters whom we call home.
It did not take longer this journey to test our wills to the fullest. 15 Miles outside of Laramie Wy, a sudden “squeal” was coming from the rear axle of the truck. Pulled over and did a once over and nothing was found. Attempted to drive and found that any speed over 30mph would remind us we had a major problem. It was Friday morning and my travel companions started to call ahead to transmission shops in Laramie to have someone get a quick peek at whatever was going on. The phone conversations started like this, “Hey uhhh we are traveling through and we are getting a high-pitched noise from our rear axle, Are we able to come by for you to get a quick peek at it.” A few shops were closed and several stated they could schedule us in about 3 weeks. I can not confirm, or deny that after about 10 calls were made with no one having an open schedule there may have been some panic setting in.
We limped the truck and trailer into Laramie. Dropped the trailer and figured we could take the truck to Grease Monkey to check fluids. Fingers crossed this will be an easy fix. As the truck pulls into the bay of Grease Monkey, Jason’s phone rings. “Hey- You guys called earlier, and well we had a cancellation, did you want to come by”? We drove a few miles down a dirt road with a rusty sign that said “Good Vibes” This is the place! We pulled up and were greeted by some super nice folks. They were setting up a dunk tank and pulling a trailer into the shop to be used as a stage as they were having a customer appreciation day starting at noon. I did my best to make friends gifting them a copy of my book and talking about dogs as they pulled my truck in. The person setting up the dunk tank was the chaplin for the local fire department and as we exchanged stories the rain started to fall. Soon the mechanic called me over as my truck was on a lift, engine on and tires spinning. "It’s Fucked” I think his words were as you could feel the metal grinding from the inside of my transfer case. How long I asked- Well, maybe 12 hours and I can have parts here next Tuesday! I am thinking we have a shift on Sunday morning, that will not work. Plan B went into effect. Wait, We do not have plan B. One thing that being a first responder teaches you is you pivot without much question or thought. We started to make phone calls and we will just rent a truck here in Laramie. A good thought, however much harder to execute. Laramie WY did not have anything available. We would have to backtrack to Fort Collins!
Next obstacle. Getting to Ft Collins, preferably not on foot. Solution: Ask the young gal at the counter if she has any friends who would want to take us? Moments later she says her friend will be here in 10 minutes. Jason and I then traveled back to Fort Collins to pick up our rental with a nice college student who received a great deal of “dad advice” on life. We did give her a Ben Franklin for her troubles and learning some life lessons.
Now with a rental truck in hand, we were back in business. Travel back to Laramie, pick up our trailer and capture our buddies we would be back on the road!
Reflection started to set in as we realized that there was a great number of people actually putting in effort for us to continue. Total strangers helping us! Yes- there are still good people out there!
A few hours later we were heading west on I-80. BAM - “We got a flat” shouted Bob as the travel trailer attempted to see what the other lane felt like. Like a seasoned pro, he was able to pull to the side safely. No worries I stated- I have a spare!
The four of us then found the jack and we proceeded to the rear of the trailer to remove the spare. The spare is held on by a welded bracket, and there is a carriage bolt that has a rounded head with a square in the middle. Quite convenient in order for the bolt not to spin while you move the nut. O-Oh. The square, or bolt is spinning inside the bracket. Odie- Do you have some vice grips- I do actually. In my truck in Laramie. Reflecting on effort once again. When was the last time you pulled over for someone in the emergency lane? Yea- I don’t either. Well someone did for us. People putting in effort for no gain of their own. This kind sir pulled out a battery-powered socket wrench and the bracket was not giving up easily. Slowly we backed off the nut, enough to bend the bracket to get the tire off.
The tire changed- back on the road! Well, the smart thing would be to get another spare right? We thought so to and the new mission was to find a tire in the next “city” Call after call we heard - “We are closed” or “we do not have that size”. Jason said “Found one”- Walmart - but they close in 20 minutes! No worries we are 18 minutes away!
As we pulled up to the tire center we noticed a yellow chain going across the bay. The mechanic locked eyes with us and you could almost feel him mumble the words “You have to be kidding.” As the tire was being put on the spare- we figured we should do a once over, Oh-ooo. The tire on the other side was down to the steel belts. Perhaps it had another 10 miles on it before it let loose. This was not pleasurable news to our new friend who was already pissed about having to stay late to change our tire. Or should I now say tires? After closer inspection- it was realized we had bigger troubles. My axle on the trailer was bent downward in the center” Causing the tires to bow outward, causing extreme wear on the inner of the tire. Let's just watch it was the plan as we continued on. After a few hundred or so miles we stopped to check. What do you know- the new tires are showing some extreme wear and they too will blow at some point.
Now we were faced with some decisions. Being close to Salt Lake we found a trailer repair shop that opened the next day at 0800. Let's just call it a night here, get it fixed in the morning and we will be good to go. Surrendering to the night we were all hungry- The easy thing to do was to eat right next door at the Sonic. Oh no, Jason said- I found a place! In this strip mall we came across a place named Catracho. Known for its fine Salvadorian and Honduran food. As we opened the door the sounds of a Mexican fiesta rang out. The best way I can describe our entrance was similar to when Pee-Wee Herman walked into the biker bar in the movie Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. I know I’m white- and in this moment it was quite apparent. We were greeted kindly and I am not sure a Modelo ever tasted so good. We pointed to the menu as we could not speak the language, and they could not speak English. Thankfully Cerveza is one word most all cultures know. This place was like a magical time warp as everyone was singing karaoke - but everyone was on point- Julio Iglesias would be proud. As you all know I am a huge fan of Latin music and my desire to hear Cucurrucucu Paloma overtook me. We soon made friends with a nice gal sitting behind us and I requested she sing the song for me. She rocked it for us! She was twice my size, but had grown fond of my request. After a full tummy of octopus and such we hit the rack.
The RV repair shop owner showed up early that morning and we shared with him our troubles. He looked down and said he had no mechanics on Saturday. So off we go with the intention of “just watching the tires” as we stop for fuel. We also had the genius idea that we will just rotate the tires so they all wear equally. And we did just that and made it to the Playa!
The first few days were beautiful, Fantastic weather, great shifts and plenty of laughs. Then things took a dramatic turn. There were unplanned fires, protesters and a hurricane-fueled rainstorms that turned the Nevada desert into a sea of mud. The 10 protesters from the Seven Circles Alliance chained themselves to a trailer in the middle of Highway 447 and put up handmade signs proclaiming “Abolish Capitalism,” “Burners Unite” and “Ban Private Jets.” We were already behind enemy lines at this point.
The art this year was on point. Where else can you see a clown committing a felony, clothing-optional celebrators, flaming mad max cars and come on… Where on earth can you go to watch a flaming octopus playing PYT by Michael Jackson with incredible acoustics? My personal favorite was the gigantic mechanical horse!
At some point, I had a moment of intense realization as I looked at 4 badly worn tires on my RV. Umm, We do not have enough tires to get home I shuttered to the others. We are planning on leaving on Sunday followed by Monday, which was a holiday. Translation: Everything will be closed. We made an attempt to re-bend the axle as we placed a jack under the axle for the entire week. Guess what- that does not work. The next day something happened. One of the Stockton Firefighters Jerome called for me.
“Hey Odie- come check this out”. He had 4 brand new tires on rims for our journey home. Here we are in the middle of nowhere and tires and rims appear. Nothing more than miraculous. They say the Playa provides!
Months prior I was speaking with Jason talking about Burning Man- “It really is like being on the moon” as you will encounter soul-crushing dust storms. No money as everything is gifted and there is nowhere on earth you can have the most delicious BLT!
Let me tell you, you may think you know mud, but there is no mud like the playa mud of the Black Rock Desert, some 100 miles northeast of Reno. Once it was part of Lake Lahontan, which was more than 500 feet deep about 14,000 years ago. After its water evaporated, a deep layer of silt got left behind, and now even a small amount of rain can turn that silt into a mud bog.
Then the rain started to fall. Bob and I were preparing for our overnight shift on August 20. We gathered some rain gear and after a “stroll” in socks (that was the only way to get around) we arrived to relieve the prior crew. Like good firefighters, you always show up for your shift! Oddly upon arrival, we found there was no shift supervisor and there are normally 4 Quick Response Vehicles that care for the city along with 10 ALS ambulances. This is when shit got real. QRV 9 and 12 were out of service due to a lack of staffing. The QRVs were the only vehicles that could maneuver the mud all 10 ALS ambulances were out of service to due not being able to move. Hurricane Hilary sent a lot of rain our way! We had a reflection that there are 73,000 people and no ambulances. Myself, Bob and the two other souls to handle any emergency faced with minimal BLS equipment and some sunscreen.
For the most part, everyone retreated to their place of refuge without too many shenanigans. People really only called when they were really sick or when their campmate turned unconscious and unresponsive. Never had I ever planned to breathe for someone on my lap as their feet hung off the back seat of a gator in pouring rain. Feeling a pulse go from from 90, to 70, and then to 50 is what some would call a trend. Never had I planned to tell my partner “ I need your "A" game right now”! as I felt the QRV going in circles. Perceptive is a gift- At that moment I was unaware that every light in the city was turned off due to the rain and one's ability to navigate was gone. No phones, no GPS, a downpour of rain with 15’ visibility and a crashing patient. A huge shout out to the patient's mother who helped me gather needed equipment to place a nasal airway to be able to provide breaths until we reached Rampart!
Looking back- it was intense, challenging, with a feeling of helplessness followed by a feeling of confidence. Then there was something like out of a movie. The ER doctor, in the pouring rain, looked at us and there was a long pause and said “You guys are a badass.” “To do what you did in this environment is nothing short of miraculous”! He then turned and went to attend to his patient. My 26 years of medicine and a great partner proved to be worthy in that moment.
As we staged in the safety of Station 9 the sun started to emerge and the feeling of warmth attempted to dry our rain-soaked clothes as we sat around a small propane fire. We were wrapped in a blanket with our eyes closed listening to a nurse who was reading to us like a mother to a child before bed. I am really not sure what it was about but it was perfect.
Our shift was over, again walking in socks back to our camp seemed to take forever as people finally emerged from their shelters, looking relieved. It is safe to say that Playa mud is mean. It aspires to be quicksand, but it is not quite deep enough. What is the opposite of sticky? Slippery. One might ask yourself how can it be both at the same time? The mud, angered by not being able to eat shoes, turned slick and big splashes could be heard. A flop in warm mud might sound like a pleasant spa experience until you realize there is not enough water in Nevada to get it off. Bikes are not an option as your wheel wells fill up with a chocolatey donut of collected mud or you spin holes axle-deep. In either case, you will be laughed at first and rescued much later. Just know that mud lurks under a dry, cracked surface, daring you to cross it.
Once we arrived back at camp we found that many of our tent-goers had found refuge in my camper. the fact that everyone was wearing animal onesies had little impact at the moment. Being exhausted the hardest decision was to lay next to the frog or the dinosaur to get a few hours sleep
Later that day the rain started to fall once again. We pulled up to see we were now the top news story around the world. CNN claimed there were 73,000 people in a dire situation and have been told to conserve food and water! Rumors also started that there was an ebola outbreak and we were quarantined. At that moment our camp had just made us some delicious Philly cheese steak sandwiches, cold Modelo and popcorn for all. We went on and watched Tommy Boy. One might agree it's one of the top 3 movies ever! Please know we did appreciate all the check-ins, and please know we were quite okay!
The rains put us back two days but we ended up making the journey back home with only one more blowout! I was driving as my travel mates attempted to sleep. Sleep was quite difficult as we were all conditioned to something bad that was about to happen at any moment. The last blowout was very normalized. Without words, four men got out, one on the jack, one on the lugs, and the other two gathering a new wheel and tires. If anyone ever doubts a trailer tire can be changed with precision in three minutes, they are severely mistaken.
So what was my lesson this year?
Life is going to throw shit at you, life is going to give you every reason to quit, If you do not quit, life will throw more shit at you. Life is going to test you to your breaking point. Someone is alive today because we did not quit! Someone is alive today because we asked for help. Someone is alive today because people offered to help. Most of all. I am so proud of my travel buddies. Not only are our friendships deeper, I am moved that quit did not win! Never once did anyone suggest we quit. We preserved!
I know each of us is going through “shit." Just keep moving forward and do not be afraid to ask for help. There were many people along the way who helped us! Do not be afraid to accept help! Accepting help might be one of the hardest things to do. Let people care for you! Lastly put yourself in a position where are you willing to help, after all, you may be saving someone's life!
