Search & rescue conducts training

On Sunday, members of CareFlight and the Douglas County Sheriff's Search & Rescue Unit participated in a joint training exercise as part of their training academy.

The event began with a mock call-out at 1:05 p.m., after two simulated ATV accidents occurred simultaneously in different parts of Douglas County's back country.

Trainees, supervised by active rescue members, had to locate the subjects, administer medical aid, move the subjects from steep terrain using rope systems, carry them in gurneys to a helicopter landing site, and practice loading them into a CareFlight air ambulance.

A CareFlight helicopter from Reno, piloted by Jeff Anderson, flew to the first landing site near Divide Mine in the Pine Nut Mountains, picked up the injured subject, then flew him to the second wilderness landing site in the Daggett drainage area near Kingsbury Grade. There CareFlight team gave instructions on how the two organizations work together to safely load subjects into their craft.

"Scenario-based training is very effective for us," said Rod Hogan, search and rescue president, "because our members then feel comfortable when they are on real missions."

The trainees agreed, saying they felt like they now knew what to expect when they are finally asked to participate in a real search requiring medivac extraction.

Search and rescue trainer Ryder Evans said these sort of training events are much harder to organize, but the results are far superior to classroom instruction.

At the second landing site, Anderson told the group that these events are also extremely important to CareFlight pilots because they learn where these remote sites are located, as well as practicing landing at them safely.

Anderson said most of their work is routine, such as landing at established landing pads.

Critical CareFlight Nurse Alison Kesler gave search members instruction on how to approach their craft safely, and load a patient.

Members were also told about the challenges of landing at such sites by Critical CareFlight Nurse John Mohler. They were also instructed on how wind and weather can affect the landing, and what search and rescue members can expect as CareFlight helicopters approach.