SLO County firefighters participate in helicopter training exercise
Exercise was held in Paso Robles Thursday morning
–Paso Robles firefighters participated in a training exercise in collaboration with Atascadero, Morro Bay, and Five Cities fire departments Thursday. Locals may have seen a helicopter flying and landing on City of Paso Robles property across from 1917 Kleck Street Thursday morning.
“Today we are putting on a fire line EMT and paramedic course,” says Paso Robles Fire Captain Roger Colombo. “What that position does is travel throughout the state on the large wildland fires and provides medical treatment on the line for each of the large incidents that we have year-round. So today we have firefighters from Atascadero, Morro Bay, Paso Robles, Five Cities here participating in this 2-day course, yesterday was all in the classroom, then today we are out in the field practicing with GPS Coordinates, also packaging patients, moving patients, relocating them to ambulances or helicopters with Mercy Air assisting as well to provide some helicopter safety and be able to have all of the firefighters look at the helicopter in the event that they have to transport someone by helicopter off of one of these incidents.
“The classroom really provides the firefighters the knowledge of how to complete all of the paperwork required how to travel to these different incidents cause these different incidents are going to be statewide and not always local, also looking at what to do when we get there, what to expect,” Columbo continued.
“Mercy Air 34 recently arrived at the Paso Robles airport and we are an air ambulance service. We transport primarily by helicopter; we do also have fixed-wing services, airplane services,” says Lisa Epps Air Methods PacWest area manager, SkyLife Air Ambulance.
“Mercy Air is in its 30th year of service in its division and we staff a nurse, paramedic, and pilot 24/7 here at the Paso Robles Airport and we are able to do emergent inner hospital transfers as well as 911 scene calls when it benefits the community,” Epps continued. “We just want to be a part of the EMS and hospital system here in the Central Coast and serve however we can. We came to the Central Coast primarily because it was viewed as an unserved area for air transport services and there is a lot of remote, spread out terrain, and usually helicopters can be a benefit when there are longer distances to get to trauma centers or stroke or cardiac centers.”
–Photos and report by Anthony Reed
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