The scene is all too familiar – a bad vehicle crash with serious injuries when every second counts. While firemen work to free the victims from the wreckage a helicopter is launched from Baptist Hospital in Pensacola to give patients fast travel to an emergency room.
The key to getting seriously-injured residents to the hospital by a helicopter takes coordination from the pilot and firemen on the ground.
On March 15, firemen from Flomaton, Friendship, Lambeth, McCall, Wallace and Pineview gathered at the Flomaton Fire Station for a training exercise with a Baptist LifeFlight crew.
Flomaton Fire Chief Steve Stanton said the training is critical to insure the safety of the people in the helicopter and the people on the ground.
The firemen's responsibility includes picking a landing zone and to inform the pilot of any potential hazards like power lines.
During the latest training, firefighters were briefed on what to do in the event the helicopter crashes.
“We are all taught where the fuel cutoff switches are and how to quickly pop the doors of the helicopter if people are trapped inside,” Stanton said. “It's something we train for several times a year.”
He said the key is to having the helicopter crew and the ground crew on the same page when the aircraft is landing and taking off.
“LifeFlight is a great asset to the people of this area,” Stanton said. “Our job is to make sure they land safely, load the patient and get them back in the air safely.”
