REACH crew and Newport Firefighters polish accident scene coordination
A med-evac medical crew aboard a REACH helicopter landed in the baseball field behind Newport’s main fire station Wednesday. The blades of the big red bird had barely stopped turning when a fast-paced training session broke out. They were there to learn as much as they could, as quickly as they could, because you never know when another cry for help for a REACH rescue might come crackling from the radio.
Usually REACH crews and firefighters are too busy handling a bad wreck or other emergency to do much talking or share notes on where ground rescue ends and airborne evacuation begins. But they sure got a chance Wednesday evening.
Veteran volunteers and some of the newer ones got it straight and to the point from the REACH flight crew, what is needed at a traffic crash or fire and how best to work with the REACH crew so they can get in and out fast to increase the chance of survival for the victims.
