J. Adam Fenster/The Gazette Jennifer Fellows of Chevy Chase trains March 15 as part of Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad's Bicycle Emergency Response Team.

These bikes are equipped with pannier bags and emergency equipment, and the 18 members of the team whip through traffic and crowds to ensure the safety of marathon runners, cyclists and participants of outdoor events.

Though the team of emergency medical technicians was formed seven years ago, it has reorganized to do more community outreach and recently achieved certification by the International Police Mountain Biking Association, said Steven Friedman of Chevy Chase, co-manager of BERT and a volunteer at the rescue squad.

BERT recently finished a 32-hour course on how to enhance cycling skills for EMTs on bikes with life-saving gear.

With abilities to maneuver through crowds, ride down a set of stairs, and mount and dismount quickly, EMTs on bikes arrive at a scene of an accident or emergency and tend to a victim in a timely fashion.

Unlike police patrols on bicycles in pursuit of suspects, EMTs concentrate on getting to an accident and providing initial care to those injured. The technicians are equipped with 30 pounds of supplies including bandages, ammonia salts, splints, aluminum blankets, sterilized water, defibrillators and other emergency supplies.

"People we chase after are friendlier," said Dan Carnevale, 26, of Arlington, Va. A native of Dallas and a journalist by day, Carnevale has volunteered at the squad for three years.

EMTs on bikes have treated people with cardiac arrest, dehydration, heat stroke, bumps and bruises, seizures and other ailments. Though EMTs cannot hoist victims onto the handlebars of their bikes, they can call for backup.

"There's a certain sense of security," said Kline Price, 36, who has been on the team since its inception. "... We're moving around and paying attention to the crowds."

EMTs can arrive at a scene more quickly than an ambulance, and bystanders are always looking for them, Kline said. "We're not an obstruction to the crowd," he said.

Kline, a resident volunteer at the squad, said he became a member of the self-proclaimed "rag-tag" bicycle emergency team in 1995. He said the team had the bare necessities, using their own bicycles and wearing mismatching uniforms.

He credits Friedman, 35, a health care consultant by day, and co-manager Steve Solomon for reorganizing the team. With six new mountain bikes, black uniforms and matching helmets, the team looks organized and professional, Price said.

"People recognize us from the front and back," he said.

BERT volunteers provide this extra service on top of their other volunteer commitments. In addition, most of the volunteers at the squad have day jobs. The youngest BERT volunteer is in his early 20s and the oldest is about 50.

"It's above and beyond what we do here," said Kline, who cannot put into words what the volunteer experience is like. Kline said he doesn't know how to respond to people who ask why he volunteers.

The emotional rewards outweigh the aspect of not being paid, he said. Most of the volunteers are passionate about what they do and being thanked by those they help is the biggest reward they could ever get.

Friedman, a native of New York, joined the squad in 1997 as a volunteer and survivor of cancer. Volunteering is the one thing he refuses to give up.

After witnessing an accident in New York, where a car carrying two women collided with a city bus, Friedman provided assistance at the scene of the accident. He received accolades from the New York Fire Department and decided that he loved the fieldwork so much that he became an EMT and volunteer.

The squad coordinates with event organizers and provides the service to Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Rockville and some lower parts of the county. BERT has sent out units to the Taste of Bethesda, Marine Corps Marathon, Bethesda Literary Festival, D.C. Marathon and other outdoor events, Friedman said.

A unit consists of two cyclists, he said. Usually two units are sent out to the smaller outdoor events, such as the Taste of Bethesda, and four units volunteer their services at marathons and large festivals. BERT participates in 15 events each year, from March to October, Friedman said.

BERT will send units to the Cherry Blossom Run in Washington, D.C. on April 6 and the Cure Autism Now Triathlon in Bethesda on April 13.

Friedman said BERT's goal is to send routine patrols throughout downtown Bethesda.

"I can't see myself stopping," Carnevale said. "It becomes a part of your life. It's rewarding and you're having the time of your life."