By Scott Limpus
May 15, 2019
On Wednesday, Running Springs Fire Department (RSFD) requested assistance from Mercy Air H285 from the Big Bear Fire Department (BBFD) to transport a patient to a hospital down the hill due to possible delays resulting from construction on State Route 330. Recently RSFD completed training with H285 and have used their services twice this week. On Monday night, a driver was seriously injured in a traffic accident on Green Valley Lake Road, and H285 was able to transport the patient to a trauma center much quicker than a ground ambulance could have. With serious injuries and critical illnesses, minutes can mean the difference between life and death. Having access to medical helicopters, like Mercy H285, is a huge benefit to all mountain communities.
Last year, Mercy Air Service and the Big Bear Fire Department launched a new and innovative public/private partnership that brings a medical air ambulance to Big Bear. Serving the mountain communities, and surrounding areas, the medical airship brings critical patient care services and emergency air transportation closer to the patients and will help save lives. Patients transported by Mercy Air will are flown in a new, state-of-the-art helicopter, a Bell 407GXP, that is equipped with Night Vision Goggles (NVG), autopilot, terrain avoidance, and weather overlay. Working with the Mercy Air critical care team, BBFD Paramedics now have the opportunity to enhance the overall delivery of patient care provided by the Department.
Mercy Air H285 is just one air resource that is available in the event of a serious medical emergency. Mercy Air 22 is out of Hesperia and can respond to the mountain communities in a matter of minutes when H285 is not available, or if multiple airships are needed. Depending on the circumstances, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Aviation Unit can staff “Air Medics” on their helicopters and can provide life flight services. Air Rescue 7 is often used to transport injured parties when a ground ambulance could not make it to the scene or the person needed to be hoisted to safety. The California Highway Patrol’s helicopter, H80, can also be equipped for emergency transportation. It is not uncommon for the CHP to use their airship to transport injured parties from serious traffic accidents on Interstate 15 or Interstate 40. The decision on which resource to use depends largely on the availability of the airship and their response time to the scene.
In the Big Bear area, BBFD will transport patients that require transportation down the hill by air ambulance directly to the Big Bear Airport where H285 is stationed, or to Bear Valley Hospital’s helipad. In the Lake Arrowhead area, the San Bernardino County Fire Department will often transport patients that require a life flight to Mountain Community Hospital’s helipad. In the Running Springs area, RSFD can transport patients to one of the fields at Charles Hoffman Elementary to rendezvous with an airship. Almost any park or school field can be used as a landing zone. The large turnouts along the highways can also be used, especially when the helicopters are responding to traffic accidents.
