fernie heli rescue team

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79 to Vancouver Experience the excitement in Vancouver with our lowest airfares ever! $ plus taxes & fees see our website or call for details to/via the uncongested South Terminal @ YVR 3-day advance purchase Visit friends & family, be part of the excitement. Concerts! Shopping! World-class events! from to Victoria 109 $ from to Campbell River 129 $ from 1.800.663.2872 or call your travel agent www.paciccoastal.com People Friendly. People First. Thursday, January 28, 2010 Serving the South Country, Sparwood, Fernie, Elkford since 1898 $1 (includes GST) Elk Valley Olympic torch photos Pages 2 and 27 Bonus coverage in The Valley inside this paper Extra photos online at www.thefreepress.ca By Rebecca Edwards Free Press Staff A heli-rescue team has been formed by Elk Valley res- cue teams to get help to backcountry accident vic- tims faster. The team will cover the East Kootenay region and will include eight trained long-line rescue team members who can be lowered from the heli- copter and extract victims to safety. As well as reaching vic- tims in minutes rather than hours, the team will be able to access victims in awkward places such as ledges or unstable ava- lanche zones. Currently the near- est heli-rescue teams are in Golden, Nelson or Canmore. Teck Coal is donating $100,000 to the Elk Valley Heli-Rescue Society - $50,000 to set up the soci- ety and $10,000 each year for the next five years to cover running costs. Teck’s Manager of Community and Governmental Affairs Nic Milligan said the company was keen to support local search and rescue services after seeing the response to the avalanche in December 2008 which took the lives of eight Sparwood men, several of them Teck employees. “That incident high- lighted the importance of these organizations for us,” he said. “We wanted to rec- ognize that in a significant way.” Milligan added: “Of all the projects that search and rescue were hoping to develop, the heli-rescue team was applicable to the greatest area – there was an opportunity to involve members of each of the search and rescue organ- izations in the Elk Valley. “We also call upon the search and rescue groups in other areas and this is equip- ment that would also assist them.” T h e society includes members of Fernie and District Search and Rescue (FADSAR), Sparwood Search and Rescue and the Elkford Fire Department. Heli-rescue team director Chris Thomas said having the long-line capability will allow victims to be rescued more easily from areas that are difficult to reach by foot. “A few weeks ago we rescued an injured snow- mobiler in a helicopter but we had to lug him up a slope to where the helicop- ter could land. With long line we could lift him up to a landing place which would be much quicker and less people involved. “We have an avalanche beacon detector for the helicopter so possibly in a dangerous avalanche zone we could lower someone down to dig a victim out, and if another avalanche was to happen the helicop- ter could fly away and take them out of there.” However Thomas, who is also a Fernie Search and Rescue director, warned that the helicopter is not a backcountry taxi service. “You should always be adequately prepared to look after yourself in the backcountry. This is an emergency service for if an accident happens – it isn’t giving people licence to do whichever silly thing they want.” (Left to right) Nic Milligan, Teck Coal presents a $50,000 cheque to Steve Robertson, President of Elk Valley Heli- rescue, watched by society directors Sharron Thomas, Marilyn Robertson, Chris Thomas, Bernie Palmer and Bernie Van Tighem, Elkford Fire Chief and Greg Goodison, pilot at Bighorn Helicopters. Missing team directors are Jen Coulter and Rick Adams. Photo by A. Treharne Lift off for heli-rescue team “This is an emergency service for if an accident happens – it isn’t giving people licence to do whichever silly thing they want.” Chris Thomas Heli-rescue team director

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Pages 2 and 27• Bonus coverage in The Valley inside this paper• Extra photos online at www.thefreepress.ca• Vancouver with our lowest airfares ever! Thursday, January 28, 2010 Serving the South Country, Sparwood, Fernie, Elkford since 1898 $1 (includes GST) Visit friends & family, be part of the excitement. Concerts! Shopping! World-class events! 1.800.663.2872 or call your travel agent www.pacificcoastal.com By Rebecca Edwards Free Press Staff Chris Thomas Heli-rescue team director

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Fernie heli rescue team

79to Vancouver

Experience the excitement in Vancouver with our lowest airfares ever!$

plus taxes & fees

see our website or call for detailsto/via the uncongested South Terminal @ YVR

3-day advance purchase

Visit friends & family, be part ofthe excitement. Concerts!

Shopping! World-class events!

from

to Victoria 109$

from

to Campbell River 129$from 1.800.663.2872 or call your travel agent

www.pacificcoastal.com

People Friendly. People First.

Thursday, January 28, 2010 S e r v i n g t h e S o u t h C o u n t r y , S p a r w o o d , F e r n i e , E l k f o r d s i n c e 1 8 9 8 $1 ( includes GST)

Elk Valley Olympic torch photosPages 2 and 27• Bonus coverage in The Valley inside this paper• Extra photos online at www.thefreepress.ca•

By Rebecca EdwardsFree Press Staff

A heli-rescue team has been formed by Elk Valley res-

cue teams to get help to backcountry accident vic-tims faster.

The team will cover the East Kootenay region and will include eight trained long-line rescue team members who can be lowered from the heli-copter and extract victims to safety.

As well as reaching vic-tims in minutes rather than hours, the team will be able to access victims in awkward places such as ledges or unstable ava-lanche zones.

Currently the near-est heli-rescue teams are in Golden, Nelson or Canmore.

Teck Coal is donating $100,000 to the Elk Valley Heli-Rescue Society - $50,000 to set up the soci-

ety and $10,000 each year for the next five years to cover running costs.

Teck’s Manager of Community and Governmental Affairs Nic Milligan said the company was keen to support local search and rescue services after seeing the response to the avalanche in December 2008 which took the lives of eight S p a r w o o d men, several of them Teck employees.

“That incident high-lighted the importance of these organizations for us,” he said. “We wanted to rec-ognize that in a significant way.”

Milligan added: “Of all the projects that search and rescue were hoping to develop, the heli-rescue team was applicable to the

greatest area – there was an opportunity to involve members of each of the search and rescue organ-izations in the Elk Valley.

“We also call upon the search and rescue groups in

other areas and this is equip-ment that w o u l d also assist them.”

T h e s o c i e t y i n c l u d e s members

of Fernie and District Search and Rescue (FADSAR), Sparwood Search and Rescue and the Elkford Fire Department.

Heli-rescue team director Chris Thomas said having the long-line capability will allow victims to be rescued more easily from areas that are difficult to reach by foot.

“A few weeks ago we rescued an injured snow-

mobiler in a helicopter but we had to lug him up a slope to where the helicop-ter could land. With long line we could lift him up to a landing place which would be much quicker and less people involved.

“We have an avalanche beacon detector for the helicopter so possibly in a dangerous avalanche zone we could lower someone down to dig a victim out, and if another avalanche was to happen the helicop-ter could fly away and take them out of there.”

However Thomas, who is also a Fernie Search and Rescue director, warned that the helicopter is not a backcountry taxi service.

“You should always be adequately prepared to look after yourself in the backcountry. This is an emergency service for if an accident happens – it isn’t giving people licence to do whichever silly thing they want.”

(Left to right) Nic Milligan, Teck Coal presents a $50,000

cheque to Steve Robertson, President of Elk Valley Heli-

rescue, watched by society directors Sharron Thomas,

Marilyn Robertson, Chris Thomas, Bernie Palmer and

Bernie Van Tighem, Elkford Fire Chief and Greg Goodison,

pilot at Bighorn Helicopters. Missing team directors are

Jen Coulter and Rick Adams. Photo by A. Treharne

Lift off for heli-rescue team“This is an

emergency service for if an accident happens – it isn’t

giving people licence to do whichever silly

thing they want.”

Chris Thomas Heli-rescue team director