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Question for Squaddies
A friend of mine is setting up a helicopter\ rescue/med-evac service in a remote, rural part of Australia. They will be dispatched for all MVAs and are looking at putting together some lightweight extrication kit to carry on their helicopters. So, my question to all you squaddies...what would you carry as the barest bones minimum of extrication gear? Remember, you don't have much space, and you are limited on weight. It's likely the bird will beat the ground response a lot of the time, and may be on-scene for some time before anyone else shows up. They already carry a full compliment of medical gear, and often carry a doctor (hooray, socialised medicine!).
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Oldman on
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That's going to be a tough call. A lot will depend on the type of aircraft which will be utilized, the type of terrain and elevation, among others. The larger helicopters can carry more, but are not as versatile in tight LZ's. Smaller helicopters are better suited for tight areas, but can't carry as much.
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Permalink Reply by Reg Mathis on
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Well, since size/weight ar a factor, you can't go wrong with a good old-fashioned hacksaw and a dozen spare blades. Then I would add a "tactical" haligan tool. Smaller and more compact than the regular tool with all the same prying options. A small one-handed sledge(5 lbs/2.? kilos). Not sure what you guys down under call it, but we have what we call a "come-along". It's a small, hand operated winch that is pretty small and lightweight.
Just a few ideas to start!
TCSS
Reg
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Permalink Reply by Capt.Alex Arnold on
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I am by no means a rep or endorser of any particuliar brand, but...Holmatro makes a hand powered hydraulic tools that work great. They are relativly light and compact, and can really tear some s*&$ up, especially when you learn and train a lot with it. Here is the link for it. http://www.holmatro.com/rescue/en/m1185-1-108/hand-operated-tools.aspx The HCT 4120 is the model (in case the link doesn't work.)
Be safe and learn something new today.
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Permalink Reply by Vic Silverfish on
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Regarding the types of birds: I think they fly Augusta A109Es and Kawasaki BK117s. Australia does not have any significant mountains in this region, although we have some of the roughest terrain you can imagine!
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Permalink Reply by Capt./Chaplain Mike Petrosky on
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Ok- A109's are a decent size and BK's are a tighter fit, bulky little helo.
I like the idea of the come-a-long/hand wench, you can attach it to a good size tree,etc. and start pulling. And how about a hydraulic port-a-power/rabbitt tool? Its small and once you have a purchase point you can spread the opening to get a little room. A good Halligan and a set of hand tools never hurt.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Richmond on
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Hurst makes a small battery powered combination set of jaws/cutter.
I had the chance to demo it and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of power it had. Its pretty light weight and the battery recharges extremely fast so if you have 2 batteries you would be able to work for quite awhile. Granted it is small and you would have a tough time on a semi but it worked pretty good taking of a couple of car doors and rolling the roof. Check out the Hurst website www.jawsoflife.com the tool is the LKE 55 and is shown under the high pressure pull down as a combination tool.
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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on
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A couple of battery powered reciprocating saws, spare batteries and with a LOT of blades (assorted).
A couple of air bottles and a few lift bags, don't take up a lot of room. Also air bottles can be set up to run some pneumatic tools as well, so there's another option too.
I can only imagine where this remote, rural part of Oz is, or rather, where it isn't since almost all of Oz is remote and rural.
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Permalink Reply by Shareef Abdu Nur on
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i really don't mean to be a stick in the mud or a negative nancy, but I personally don't like the idea of extrication tools on choppers. I do not like the idea of the medical care team being the rescue team as well. I believe that this will deter their minds away from patient care as well as compromise job security for the rest of us with our feet on the ground. Perhaps, I'm just not aware of just how rural the area is and perhaps a chopper is the only chance for help. I would make the case and ask are we sure that we have exhausted all other options as far as Fire Rescue handling the extrications? All that being said, Holmatro makes handheld combi-tools that I believe would fit your request and I would also recommend other hand tools(irons, axes, etc...) as well as some extrication training classes for the crew that will be operating. Again, sorry for being so negative. it is never my intention to offend anyone.
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Permalink Reply by Wade Seely on
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A good dewalt set with a sawz-all, and interchangable batteries.
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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
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I've heard there is battery-powered extrication gear available. It probably would be lighter and smaller than hydraulic tools. There are also manual hydraulic tools that take a little elbow grease but are dependable. No substitute for halligan, sledge, Sawzall, glass cutter, etc.
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A 109's have a max take off weight of 2720kg, BK's have 3350kg. Another factor is the air density (temperature, humidity, and altitude) of the areas they would be flying which can lower these weights. I've seen BK's with 3 crew members and 1 patient be within 45kg of their max.
The basic hand tools; Halligan, glass saw, and short sledge hammer would add a nominal weight, and are easy mount. The Holmatro tools would be effective, however, I think the better and lighter choice would be battery powered tools like a reciprocating saw.
If they were to get the helos equipped, I and I'm sure others would love to see what they did. I know I've never heard of one carrying extrication equipment.
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This is for an Australian rescue service, it is likely the helo will beat any ground units in by a significant margin. In some cases it may be by an hour or even more. Right outside of the Sydney metro an MVA may wait over an hour for an ambo, even longer for heavy rescue.
I totally agree with all of your points, but this case is exceptional. They need to plan on being the only unit on scene (may with the police) for a long time. A lot of the fire units out in the whoop-whoop don't carry much extrication equipment either.
Thank you for the suggestions. I'll look into them.
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