New SAR gear gets test run

by Muriel Archibald CASTANET - Sep 28, 2014 / 5:00 am

Vernon Search and Rescue (SAR) is the first in the province to offer a new rescue technique in a ground-breaking pilot project that could serve as a model for other SAR units across the country. The Vernon unit is the first volunteer search and rescue organization to offer helicopter winch rescue, which is designed to greatly speed up remote rescues and thereby save lives. A demonstration of the technique was held Saturday in Coldstream. Don Blakely of Vernon Search and Rescue says it is a notable achievement. "After five years of planning and preparation Vernon Search and Rescue will be the first search and rescue unit in Canada to deploy this capability. That is truly historic." Blakely says in the past, use of a helicopter in remote rescue situations was limited. "We could only do [a helicopter rescue] if there was a nearby landing zone. Sometimes there just isn't. So then we would have to move you over rough ground and even if there was a nearby landing zone we would still have to move you to where that landing zone was." He says the old system, called helicopter external transport, is "just fancy words for dangling underneath the helicopter screaming your guts out." Blakely says the new winch rescue method is a big improvement. "After all who can argue with everyone being inside the helicopter rather than dangling underneath? That's what helicopter winch rescue brings to the table." Highly trained crews will now be able to deliver medical attention while the patient is in the helicopter, without having to wait to reach an ambulance or hospital. The program is a two year pilot project with an option for a third year. It was approved by the provincial government to test the system. Blakely says he's confident it will be a success. "We strongly believe it will improve patient outcomes. One of the interesting things is that, if so directed by the ambulance service, we can take patients directly and quickly to hospital from the rescue site." The speed of rescue is directly related to survival rates. Blakely points to a study done three years ago that compared survival rates from serious motor vehicle accidents in the interior and on the south coast. "The survival rates on the south coast were 80%. In the interior it was 50%. That significant difference was attributed to the time it takes to get the patients to hospital. It's much more difficult and there are much longer distances in the interior. That's a pretty startling and sobering statistic." For people in the backcountry the time for rescue can be significant. "It can take us half a day or more, if you're way back there, so imagine what the survival rates are like for people who are injured there," says Blakely. "This initiative targets that specific vulnerable population. This will improve patient outcomes." The program will use a $4.5 million dollar Bell 412 twin-engine helicopter operated by Wildcat Helicopters of West Kelowna. The helicopter is dedicated only to SAR, meaning it will be available at all times. In addition to the provincial government, the project is supported by local governments and volunteer organizations.