VIDEO: On Thursday, the Banks Fire Department hosted multiple agencies to train loggers to call for a helicopter in an emergency. โAlways important to be prepared if anything were to go wrong out in the woods,โ said Jonathan Metz, a forester with Weyerhaeuser.
More than 200 people gathered at the fire station along Highway 26 on Thursday. Those in attendance heard presentations from field and administrative personnel, watched rescue demonstrations from the Coast Guard, and checked out a LifeFlight helicopter.
In the logging industry, if a medical emergency occurred, the fastest way to a hospital is by taking a helicopter. LifeFlight nurse, Gabriel Wihtol, said he was happy to show the group what to do in an emergency. โIf youโre stuck in the woods in the middle of nowhere and you need to get care fast, itโs going to take too long to drive everywhere,โ Wihtol said. โSo, knowing how to activate services quickly will get you to the hospital that you need to get to faster.โ
Mark Standley, Vice President of Big Horn Logging, helped coordinate Thursdayโs event. He said itโs essential that his crews understand how these helicopters operate in an emergency so the rescue mission can run as smoothly and quickly as possible.
โWhen the helicopter comes in, what do we need to prepare for, what are the expectations when the helicopter comes in, how do we get directions the quickest, and how do we triage a patient the best so they understand what weโre up against,โ Standley said.
Loggers and foresters like Metz said events like these serve an important purpose.
