ed area, immediately adjacent
to the simulated
patient. Hamilton repositioned the long line a safe distance away while the team went to work. In what appeared to be a carefully rehearsed manner the team quickly assessed the patient, opened the red canvas bag, and proceeded to assemble a folding backboard and litter kit. Amazing what they can manage to fit into those little bags. In a remarkably short period of time they had the patient packaged and prepped for extraction. Down came the 100’ line, the litter was secured and the team members hooked on for the ride out of this very confined space. Again, in what appeared to be a very rou- tine manner, the patient and team were extracted and repositioned a safe distance away.
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK As I mentioned earlier, the opportunity to
observe a unit such as this is a very rare one. Never had I imagined how diversified, well-trained and truly capable this small group of pilots and team members is.
ing a high priority.
It was clear that they have made train- The value of that training can
be measured in results, which this group has demon- strated dozens of times since putting this new air- craft in service. Not the types to “tell the tales,” these folks would much prefer for their actions to speak for them. I can only imagine the impact they would have if they could secure funding for a few more Bell 407s. ◆
Editor’s note: As we go to press we learned that the Alabama Department of Public
Safety’s Aviation Unit was in the midst of a large-scale fire fighting operation in Gulf
Shores. As of last count, they have delivered over 59,000 gallons of water in an effort to extinguish the forest fire. Another excellent example of why our leaders should continue to support and improve the capabilities of units just like this one.
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