With leaves entangled in her hair, the young woman resisted entering the truck and insisted she was stable. She struggled to stand in her pointy-toed boots as police officers removed her handcuffs.

Police said she had a blood alcohol content of .295, almost four times the legal limit. The department's policy is to send anyone who tests above .2 to the hospital for possible alcohol poisoning, Renner said.

The paramedics strapped the intoxicated patient to a stretcher and slid her into the ambulance.

Renner administered an IV to replenish the young woman's fluids and VanStempvoort quizzed her alertness on the way to Lansing's Sparrow Hospital, nearly 10 minutes away.

"Do you guys think I'm stupid?" the girl asked in slurred speech.

"I don't think you're dumb," VanStempvoort said. "I'm asking questions so I can understand what's going on and making sure you know what's going on."

After admitting the patient to the hospital, Renner reflected on the run.

"As far as physical resistance, we've seen a lot more than that," he said.

The State News witnessed two calls during a three-hour ride-along with East Lansing paramedics on Saturday.

Game day

The majority of alcohol-related calls aren't from people being sick from pure consumption, rather, many are from behavioral situations where alcohol was a factor, Pratt said.

"We certainly do pick up a fair amount of calls that involve alcohol," he said. "But you have to remember we have three times the population of the city celebrating the game."

He added that they have responded to everything from people hurt in pick-up games of football to cardiac arrests.

"We've had a lot of (life) saves on campus at a lot of these events," East Lansing Fire Department Lt. Troy Brya said, adding there are 13 paramedics staffed at Spartan Stadium.

The paramedics try to leave the station within one minute after receiving a call. They say most places on campus can be reached in less than five minutes.

Brya's crew, based out of the campus station between Wonders and Case halls, is generally dispatched before and after the sporting event, he said.

"We don't get a lot of calls during the game," he said. "It seems like we're able to watch the game a lot of times."

Although the firefighters said they haven't seen a decrease in calls directly related to the new tailgating restrictions put in place midseason, there has been an increase in the total number of runs for the year. Tailgate rules were changed this year after MSU officials worried too many students were sent to the hospital after playing drinking games and consuming alcohol for hours.

The Northern Tier development and the growth of the campus population has boosted the rate, Brya said.

"Hopefully some of that has to do with education," Pratt said. "In the past, students have been reluctant to call the ambulance for intoxication because they are worried about a (Minor In Possession)."

Renner said he hasn't been able to grasp the frequency of calls related to intoxication.

"I still like to ... go down and tailgate," he said. "It just amazes me, the number of young adults we pick up that have had way too much."

But VanStempvoort said drinking will always be something the department deals with.

"I don't think there's going to be any amount of education that will change it completely," he said. "One of the great things about America is that we get to choose to do that kind of thing or not.

"We also have things set up to help people that are in that situation."

The daily grind

The East Lansing Fire Department consists of full-time firefighters and paramedics. They normally work 24-hour shifts and go home for the following 48 hours, but some crew members work overtime during football weekends.

Brya said it can be difficult to get a good night's rest when he's on a shift.

"It's kind of like having an alarm clock that won't shut off," he said. "It can be a pain but you just get used to it."

While waiting for the crew to come out of a false fire alarm at the Chemistry Building during game time, VanStempvoort commented on the changing level of intensity that comes with the fire-fighting territory.

"Going from a situation where it's real severe to just relaxing takes a while," he said.

Renner said finding humor in some situations can alleviate stress that comes with the traumatic incidences.

"If you are devastated in every aspect of your job, then it's going to be hard to do for 25, 30 years," he said.

VanStempvoort hasn't witnessed any major scenes in his nine months as a firefighter, but said he often removes himself personally from the situation.

"Once you learn about the human anatomy you think of it as a machine and how to fix it - not necessarily how you would think of a person that you love at home," he said.

Seeing children in pain is something that brings the impact of the job close to home for many of the firefighters, he explained.

"Little kids are the hardest thing for all of us," he said. "Fortunately, kids are usually fairly healthy.

"I haven't had that situation in my career, but I'm sure I will."

After investigating the false alarm, the crew returned home to the fire station across from Munn field to watch the remainder of the MSU football game.

When they yelled for a touchdown, it was echoed by the fans inside Spartan Stadium just a block away.

And as they sat in their leather "rapid response" loungers, they anticipated the jump in activity that was to come.

"We're not going to be sitting in these chairs - we're just relaxing," Renner said. "It's going to be a busy night."

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Game day responses

The East Lansing Fire Department have responded to 186 calls during MSU's 10 football games so far this season.

Date	Opponent	Number of calls
Sept. 4	at Rutgers	11
Sept. 11	Central Michigan	34
Sept. 18	Notre Dame	20
Sept. 25	at Indiana	9
Oct. 2	at Iowa	12
Oct. 9	Illinois	23
Oct. 16	Minnesota	23
Oct. 30	at Michigan	20
Nov. 6	Ohio State	14
Nov. 13	Wisconsin	20

Source: East Lansing Fire Department