Backcountry Medical Guides provides EMS volunteer coordination, medical planning, and first aid oversight for outdoor recreation and cultural events across the Pacific Northwest. We recruit and deploy certified EMS volunteers, build site-specific emergency plans, and provide a dedicated paid coordinator who serves as your medical liaison throughout the event. Every person on the ground holds an EMT-Basic certification or higher. We handle the roster, the radio, and the plan.

What We Can Provide

EMS Volunteer Coordination

We recruit, vet, schedule, and deploy EMT-Basic or higher personnel across your event footprint. Volunteers are briefed on your site by our medical staff, equipped with field kits, and integrated into your communications structure. You get coverage. We handle the roster.

Event Management Plan Development

We can also consult on your full event management plan. This could include writing the medical sections of your plan, including first aid protocols, mass casualty procedures, radio communication plans, and emergency vehicle ingress and egress routes.

Risk Assessment and Medical Planning

Before your event, we review your site, your schedule, and your anticipated attendance to identify risk factors and set appropriate staffing levels. We think about the things that can go wrong before you're in the middle of them.

On-Site Medical Liaison

Our medical staff serves as your point of contact with Bellingham Fire, BPD, and other responding agencies. One number. Clear chain of command.

Events We've Supported

NW Tune-Up — Multi-day mountain bike and music festival at the Bellingham Waterfront and Galbraith Mountain. Thousands of attendees across two venues.
WMBC Whatcom World Cup — Eight-race mountain bike series on Wednesday evenings at Galbraith Mountain.
Fourth Corner Punk Fest — Two-day music festival at The Landing at Evil Bikes, Fairhaven.
Fire & Story (Paper Whale) — Mid-winter cultural event in Bellingham.

What Details Impact Cost

Every event is different, so pricing is built around your specific needs. Factors that affect the overall cost of EMS volunteer coordination include:

Event duration — single day versus multi-day events
Number of attendees — higher attendance means higher staffing levels
Number of volunteers required — based on risk level, activity type, and attendee count
Number of event locations — coverage across multiple sites requires more coordination and more people
Travel distance — events outside the Bellingham area may include mileage or travel costs
Level of advance planning — a full medical plan built from scratch takes more time than reviewing or updating an existing one
Equipment and supplies — field kits, radios, and other gear scaled to your event
On-site coordinator time — hours needed for our dedicated medical liaison throughout the event

We'll walk through these with you and build a quote based on your event's footprint.

Let’s Talk

We'd love to hear about your event. Whether you have a full medical plan in place or you're starting from scratch, reach out. We'll figure out what makes sense together.

Reach out to us at training@backcountrymedicalguides.org to start the conversation.

EMS Coordination for Events