Jake Jakabosky
On April 9, High Prairie firefighters went to John Day Dam to get in-person training on how to handle Life Flight arrivals. Conditions were windy, making for quite a realistic situation when the Life Flight helicopter landed at the helipad located at the north end of the dam.
The firefighters were instructed in radio communications, terrain limitations in the landing zone, brush height restrictions, the clearance from various obstacles like trees and power lines, etc. They also learned patient loading methods and how to measure and communicate wind speed and direction, including using smoke and hanging flagging on a truck’s aerial to show the wind direction. They were reminded not to wear hats, helmets or loose clothing when bringing a stretcher to the helicopter (they could get sucked into the rotors), and to safely approach the helicopter from an angle where the pilot can always see them.
The firefighters enjoyed the opportunity to ask questions of the Life Flight pilot, medic, and nurse. For example, since the pilot uses infrared night-vision goggles, is he able to see the red landing zone beacons and vehicle emergency lights that are used at night to identify an emergency helicopter landing site? The answer was yes, the pilot simply looks under the goggles and can see everything plainly.
Although the necessity of Life Flight landings on High Prairie is rare, Fire District 14 was involved in two such incidents in 2015. With the April training, they are now even better prepared for such events.