Dozens Need Treatment at Pittsburgh Hip Hop Concert

Nearly three dozen young concert-goers required treatment during a hip-hop concert Friday at Stage AE on the North Shore, Pittsburgh paramedics said.

Sixteen people went to hospitals for “dehydration and other heat-releated issues,” said Paul Sabol, a paramedic district chief.

About 16 others became ill at the concert by hip-hop superstar Mac Miller and were treated at the scene, Sabol said.

The concert began at 6:30 p.m. with about 2,000 to 3,000 fans at the outdoor venue, said Marshall Jarrett, one of three city paramedics who worked at the gathering.

The temperature at Pittsburgh International Airport at 9 p.m. was 71 degrees. It was 70 at 11 p.m., said Rich Kane, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

“The dew point was 61. Any time the dew point gets over 60, you start to feel uncomfortable, do some sweating,” Kane said.

“It doesn’t take much to get overheated when you have a whole lot of people huddled together and dancing,” Sabol agreed.

He said some young people admitted smoking marijuana and consuming alcohol.

At one point, city paramedics called for mutual aid from Ross/West View Emergency Medical Services, Sabol said.

Simon Taxel, a city paramedic who worked at the concert, said the Stage AE staff was well prepared for the concert and heat-related problems but needed help as the number of people becoming ill peaked about 10 p.m.