Written by Mollee D. Harper
The entertainment industry has never been more focused on event and location safety for its artists, staff and spectators. This week, we sit down with founder and CEO Steve Peters of Southeast Event Safety and learn about his unique business providing medical safety on location at entertainment venues and events for the past 20 years. During our time together, Peters shares his passion, commitment and onsite service in medical safety at drag strips, music concerts, festivals, production sites and more within Georgia’s entertainment arena.
Southeast Event Safety is a medical safety business founded by Steve Peters in 2002, who serves as Chief Executive Officer and Safety Director. Their headquarters are located at 745 Scruggs Road, Ringgold, Georgia, 30736.
Peters offered, “I grew up in the safety world and have held positions from a local and state level. While working events in surrounding areas as a safety advisor and EMT-I.
“I realized there needs to a better way to provide care and safety to event goers. That’s what led to the founding of Southeast Event Safety in 2002.”
He continued, “I’ve been working with some of the same staff for 15-20 years now. Our employees are EMTs, paramedics, nurses and firemen, which are career employees dedicated to medical safety. We have administrative staff and supervisors onsite for all events.”
Peters shared, “We have primarily built our business based on word of mouth. Live Nations Entertainment has been our client for many, many years. We’ve been at their venue at the Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta, GA for 20 years providing onsite medical for spectators and production for countless concerts. We’ve done music venues for years. Also in that arena, we are involved in their Emergency Management Planning and provide active shooter training, first aide classes for mass casualties and more. We are also involved in their disaster recovery and evacuation plans. If there is a disaster or crisis, there is a need for medical as well as tactical. We are there.”
“We also provide medical, rescue and fire protection for Brainerd Motorsports Park in Ringgold, GA for all of their drag racing events for the past 14 years. This often involves extraction or removing someone from a vehicle. In our world, we call it taking the vehicle from the person. We are really experienced here. We do 100 plus races a year. I work the drag stripes constantly. We’ve seen cars hit walls at 200 mph. Our priority is to get that driver removed safely and to medical attention quickly.”
“We did a drag strip pilot series with the Discovery Channel. We were there onsite to provide medical support, fire and rescue during the production.”
“We do a lot of teaching, including first aide, medical consulting work and tactical medical training.”
“We have a special response team that have had active shooter training, (T.E.C.C.) Tactical Emergency Casualty Care that are trained how to stabilize patients and get them moved quickly to a safe zone. We are always looking for other good people who value the lives of others and can meet our standards of care.”
Peters described, “The kicker of our company is this. We love to promote this. There are so many medical event companies out there. What makes Southeast Event Safety unique is we are a licensed agency under Georgia Office of EMS and Trauma. We have a Medical Director, which means we meet state protocols and everything is signed off by the Medical Director. We do a lot more than hand out ice and put a band aide on you. We provide real care including: IV fluids, cardiac monitoring, and more.”
“We’ve noticed the entertainment business specifically has really ramped up their focus on safety, medical and having people onsite to care for their artists, staff and more. It’s great that they are really working to make sure everyone on set stays safe.”
“In the racing industry we work with a lot of the drivers. We have all of the necessary equipment to deal with any problems – Jaws of Life, rescue truck, stabilization equipment and fire suppression.”
Peters explained, “Our philosophy is this. Everybody is somebody to somebody; treat them as if they are your family. That is the way we have built this business. We are all about good patient care, and good customer care. In our line of work with fires, wrecks and more, we hire the best and provide the best patient care to ensure the outcome is great.”
Peters shared, “In our line of business we are dealing with life and death situations often. Our motto has forever been – Because when seconds count, there’s no room for second best.”
“At Southeast Event Safety, we get involved. We are part of the planning process long before the event. We provide inside information on safety and share our general knowledge from the time we arrive on set. When we are on a venue site, clients need to know about our people, credentials and experience so they have the confidence that should something happen, we can provide the level of care they need to keep their people safe. We don’t hesitate, we jump in and make sure they are protected and we are protected. We are here to take care of clients and limit their liabilities. We want to make sure everything is covered properly on each and every venue.”
“We even point out safety issues that can lead to injuries. We are those eyes and ears on site to help protect them while they produce and entertain.”
“Our pride is what we offer. We give 100% at every venue where we serve. In the public safety industry the biggest thing people are going to judge you on is how you respond in a crisis.”
“Southeast Safety trailer is setup as a quick response first aide station. It’s also set up as a disaster response trailer and it goes everywhere we go. It’s very well stocked. Whether there is 1 or 10 of my staff onsite, everyone has assigned medical supply and equipment to work with.”
Peters concluded, “If you hire us and we are at your venue site, there is no room for second best. We want to make sure everyone goes home safely.”
To learn more about Southeast Event Safety, visit their Facebook page or call (423) 255-2143.
