Crews across the operation must join together to save lives on the line.
E
VERY HELICOPTER OPERATOR has the same goal: to ensure their aircraft and crews depart and return safely with the mission accomplished. Between that departure and return is the essence—and promise—of rotor-
craft operations: there are no limits to what a well-trained crew in a well-maintained aircraft can accomplish. Los Angeles County, California, comprises the city of
Los Angeles and a wide variety of terrain, including moun- tains, forests, desert, Pacific coastline, and Santa Catalina Island. Te Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD) has many different missions, including providing more than 9 million county residents and visitors with air ambulance, search-and-rescue, and fire protection and response services. Te LACFD Air Operations section operates 10 aircraft: 5 Sikorsky S-70s and 5 Bell 412s. Air Operations missions run the gamut from landing on
a highway to pick up a person injured in a traffic accident to conducting high-mountain hoist rescues to fighting wildland fires. Each of these missions—and I could list many more—has its own set of risks and technical chal- lenges. To be safely and successfully completed, each requires a slightly different set of skills from LACFD personnel. Molding these dedicated public servants into a smoothly operating team is essential to safety as well as to efficient mission completion.
Air Operations Organization In Air Operations, the typical daily staffing consists of three air squads who each crew, respectively, an aircraft assigned to calls from north, west, or east sections of Los Angeles County, with the east county air squad responding to calls from Santa Catalina Island when needed. Te type of aircraft assigned to an air squad depends on
several factors, such as time of year, weather forecasts, and of course, maintenance availability. During a typical fire season, Air Operations will field an additional crew and aircraft to fulfill helicopter coordinator duties, and the county will lease two Canadair CL-415 “Super Scoopers” and a Type 1 helitanker. During times of extreme fire danger, an additional aircraft dedicated to water drops may also be used. At times, the Air Operations team has as many as five aircraft with full crews operating in a single day. Each aircraft is typically crewed with a single pilot and
two firefighter paramedics; based on mission requirements, additional personnel may be added. Like most fire depart- ments running 24-hour operations, the LACFD uses a shift-based schedule. Beginning at 8:00 am, three shifts operate on a rotating basis to accommodate scheduled days off and rest periods for the firefighters. Air Operations operates on the same schedule, only with the pilot staff working a four-shift schedule to accommodate additional crew rest days, if needed. Te aircraft maintenance staff
LOOK BACK at the 61-year history of LACFD Air Operations
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