In an appearance on ETV's "Terevisioon" Tuesday morning, Mari-Ann Voogla, chief of the Tallinn Emergency Medical Service (TEMS) summer ambulance bike patrol, stated that their response time in Central Tallinn is three to five minutes, and they carry the same equipment as an ambulance.

"The bike patrol is mainly necessary to get to the scene very quickly in Central Tallinn, especially in the Old Town," Voogla explained.

The bike patrol, which began duty for the summer on June 1, is assigned the entire City Center District.

"It's been quite busy so far," Voolga admitted. "We've responded to 21 calls by now. Some have overdone it a bit drinking, there have been injuries, headaches, blood pressure-related calls."

"Our work involves 12 hours on the bike," explained her teammate Kaido Voogla. "For those who can't do 12 hours, shifts can also be rotated every six hours."

According to Kaido Voogla, the paramedics on bike patrols don't have a fixed location where they stand and wait; they are constantly on the move.

"Usually, when we come from our main base on Retke tee, we do a lap around the Old Town, the harbor, Baltic Station, and we check out various parks," he described. "We're always in visible areas."

In terms of equipment, ambulance bike patrols carry the same necessities that ambulances do.

"Just in a somewhat reduced form," Mari-Ann Voogla clarified.

In just six hours, bike patrols can easily cover 50 kilometers — and typically ride 70-80 kilometers over a full, 12-hour shift.

Emergency calls are more frequent in the afternoons and evenings.

"There should be [ambulance] bike patrols in all our bigger cities — Tartu, Pärnu, Viljandi," Kaido Voogla said. "Just one patrol is enough. It's seasonal; you've got to utilize three summer months."

Mari-Ann Voogla added that people often tend to forget the basics in summer — to drink plenty of water and not fall asleep in the sun.

"That's why we'll often wake people up that are sleeping on benches — so they don't end up our patients later," the bike patrol chief said.

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