E-bikes credited with helping save the lives of 3 hikers in less than a month in Scottsdale

PHOENIX — The Scottsdale Fire Department is now using e-bikes to speed up mountain rescues after a string of hikers have become lost or stranded during Arizona’s hottest months.

Scottsdale Fire Capt. Dave Folio said the department expedited the deployment of the bikes in response to these incidents, including the recent death of Valley hiker Hannah Moody.

The e-bikes were first implemented on July 26 and Folio said it took just one day to prove their worth.

They were deployed to reach a lost woman who was found more than 5 miles from the Gateway Loop Trailhead.

Firefighters on e-bikes were able to reach the woman within 10-15 minutes and treat the woman, who was suffering from heat stroke, according to a post from Scottsdale Fire on Facebook.

The firefighters were able to care for the woman until a Phoenix Police Department helicopter arrived to airlift her, the post said.

How much time can e-bikes save during a mountain rescue?

“We’ve used them three times, and we’ve noticed they’re cutting off 45 minutes from our actual stop-the-clock time,” Folio said. “It’s a huge tool in the toolbox when you’re talking about life safety for the hiker, life safety for the crews that are having to get on the trail, the firefighters, and for the community.”

Scottsdale has more than 220 miles of hiking trails. The bikes can traverse difficult terrain that their UTVs cannot, and while they aren’t able to transport patients, rescuers can carry everything they need to start treatment as soon as they arrive.

“Everything they’re carrying on their backpacks are the same exact equipment that are on our fire engines — advanced life support equipment, IVs, drugs, all of that they take with them,” Folio said.

The department currently has two bikes and plans to add six more. Phoenix has also ordered four of their own and several departments in other states have also reached out to Scottsdale to get more information on how to implement them.

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