PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — The piles of snow on the ground this week made the law enforcement response to the double shooting in Providence on Ayrault Street more hectic.

The roads were still snow covered when emergency crews arrived. The stairs were also icy and hard to traverse.

The Providence Fire Department was prepared, Chief Derek Silva said in an interview with NBC10. "They actually didn't really skip a beat because they prepared for those emergencies and they were ready for that winter weather."

Witnesses told NBC10 they did not recognize the tool firefighters were using to carry the victims out of the house, fearing someone had died.

The tool used by emergency response is called a megamover. Silva described it as "a flexible plastic that has hand hooks on it so firefighters can carry a victim out quickly over snow banks or over rough terrain."

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"It's something we use quite often, particularly in stairways and narrow hallways. Stretchers are large; they're cumbersome," he added.

"The stretchers simply are not going to go up and down the stairs," another Providence firefighter said. "With this we can package the patient very, very quickly. Four, five or six firefighters, everyone with a handle."

Police officers walking in a snow-covered street. (WJAR)

Two firefighters giving NBC10 a demonstration of how the megamover works said it is "very, very stout," and that the "webbing is going to support the patient, get them out."

The two female victims who were shot, 18-and 19-years-old, are expected to recover.

Gabriel LaBoy, 18, is also facing felony charges, and is accused of firing those shots.