At 12:00 PM on January 14, 2024, Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS) transitioned into purple status operations. This decision was made in anticipation of the upcoming winter weather, which was expected to have a great impact on the service area.

Purple status is initiated in several circumstances, most often during significant weather events such as snow and ice, enacting policies that ensure the response system is staffed to respond to an influx of calls that may develop due to unfavorable conditions.

Before the storms of Friday, MEMS was already in Yellow Status. Yellow is an alert position where we begin planning an event based on a forecast or intel. At approximately 2:30, the storm first touched down, staying on the ground for an extended time, crossing much of the MEMS area of responsibility. For this reason, we moved to Red Status, which is an "all-hands-on-deck" recall.

As the storm lifted, we began to respond, and several neighboring agencies reached out and offered mutual aid to us. Unsure of the number of patients we had, we requested additional units from three other agencies. 

With any disaster, the early information can be wildly inaccurate. For example, one news outlet reported 600 injuries, with the police department providing additional transportation because EMS was stretched thin; this was inaccurate. 

There was one unfortunate death in North Little Rock; however, the overall number of other injuries for a storm this size was less than what would be expected. Nevertheless, the widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure is significant. As of this morning, we know of four MEMS staff whose homes have suffered damage but no personal injuries. MEMS had one station receive damage, and one ambulance and one supervisor truck located in Sherwood also received damage. 

Today we continue to ensure that the public has their needs met as we begin the recovery process. We also work to ensure that the MEMS family who has been affected has their needs met. To the MEMS family, if you need anything we may not be aware of, please don't hesitate to ask for assistance; we are in this together!

Greg Thompson
Executive Director, MEMS

Congratulations to our 45th Rookie Academy class! Today they graduated from their courses with South Arkansas Community College. Their journey is not yet over; these students will continue to practice and study for their NREMT exam and skills testing in the coming weeks.

MEMS is holding a Dispatch Open House March 11th and 14th. Come by and see what happens when you call 911 for a medical emergency. This is a great opportunity to see what happens and find out if Emergency Medical Dispatching is something you might want to do.

MEMS Station 1, 1121 West 7th Street, Little Rock AR, 72201

March 11th, 2023 at 2:00pm-4:00pm

March 14th, 2023 at 5:00pm-7:00pm