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About This Blog
The Fire Engineering Advisory Board is comprised of recognized leaders in the U.S. fire service who help maintain the high editorial standards our magazine is known for. In this blog, our board members share their timely insights on issues, trends, and policies in the fire service. Readers are encouraged to submit comments and help move the discussion forward.
Note: All comments must be approved by blog administrators, so you may experience a delay in seeing posted comments.
Note: All comments must be approved by blog administrators, so you may experience a delay in seeing posted comments.
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4 Comments:
The fire service plays a HUGE part in air medical safety, especially when establishing remote landing zones. All to often this task is taken lightly and time and time again complacency is evident. This is often undertaken by people with little to no training and if they are trained, there is no currency. This could be done by a 25 year veteran who was been trained, accountable and is currrent in his training or by an 18 year old who was 6 months on and just won a popularity contest to become a company officer. There are often no set enforced standards at either the State or County level and are often set forth by individual competing air medical providers. This one wants flares, this one wants cones, this ne wants strobes, this is 75X75, this 100X100, etc. Instead of monitoring the LZ for security and problems every single person on the company is watching the helo land like moths to a fire. When accidents and incidents do occur there is often no follow up, no training or retraining and no repercussions. Let me ask you this, with the "safety culture" we claim to pride ourselves in the fire service, just whay type of message does this convey?
Mike
You are spot on with your analysis of becoming "part of the solution" by addressing the issue of "helicopter shopping." We have seen the same thing in helicopter firefighting where the IC will shop until he/she finds someone willing to accept the risk that another has turned down. The use of a "turndown protocol" may be of some use in both environments.
It simply means after one organization (or company) has declined an assignment or request for service based on the risk, all subsequent requests must include the fact that someone else has already turned it down as too risky. At least all facts are on the table then.
Keep up the good work! Tony Kern, CEO, Convergent Performance
What is the NIMS recommendation for helicopter operations. It seems that an air Operations is necessary. In the real world a company officer would set up a L/Z .A paramedic that fills the position of a Transportation Group Supervisor would need this information . Operation Section Chief are often not designated when only a few patients need transport to a Burn Center or Trauma Facility. Thanks for any help. Bill Shouldis -Phila. ([email protected])
The common denominator in EMS helicopter crashes since the mid eighties has been launching medevac missions when the weather is bad. The NTSB calls it "continued flight into know IFR (lousy weather) conditions." The aeromedical community should learn a lesson from the fire service and apply a more conservative approach to risk assessment, especially when it comes to flying helicopters into bad weather. They should not wait for more government regulation, and adopt a national standard "flight acceptance criteria" that includes a "no go" choice for the pilot.
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