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LBFD Urban Search and Rescue Team Conducts Joint Training Mission with Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department Air Ship 5
By frhayes | April 1, 2009
On March 31, 2009 the Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) team and the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department (LASD) conducted a joint training mission.
The US&R team met LASD Air Ship 5 (AS-5) at the Long Beach Airport at 0900 hours for a safety briefing and conducted an inspection of all safety gear and equipment required for the drill prior to lift off. The location of the drill was in the Angeles National Forrest (Chilao Area). Mission activities included the insertion of the US&R team by AS-5 into a remote rugged forest area for Search and Rescue of a simulated disabled patient. Navigation through the approximately one mile of terrain was accomplished by the use of maps, compass, and Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
To reach the patient the US&R team was required to rappel numerous times down cliffs, while carrying all of their heavy equipment, and medical supplies. Once the patient (Hose Dummy) was located the plan was to “Package” the patient in the Stokes basket using webbing, then request AS-5 to hover over the area to hoist the victim up into the helicopter. The US&R team members then attached their harnesses to the cable hoist system to take the approximately 100-foot ride up for extraction. From the Initial reconnaissance from the air, estimates from insertion to reaching the patient were found to be inaccurate. It actually took much longer to reach the patient then initially thought, was more labor intensive then anticipated, and some of the equipment brought in was not necessary, these were some of the major items learned from this operation by the US&R team.
Specifically this cooperative effort allowed the US&R team to focus on improving land navigation techniques, rappelling, and packaging patients for transport via helicopter. LASD AS-5 was able to practice using their hoisting equipment and fine-tune their “Technical Flying” skills. This type of operation is very challenging for the pilots and crewmembers; some of the demands are navigating around dangerous terrain such as steep cliffs and trees. Another very important factor is determining weight (crew, equipment, and fuel) compared to the altitude, heat, and other factors that need to be just right to ensure safe and efficient operations of the Air Ship. In fact with all of the crewmembers involved with these operations it was much easier to come in from Long Beach and land then to take off at a higher altitude, where the air is less dense. During the hover operations involved with extrication of the US&R team multiple trips were required to ensure safety.
One of the tasks that LASD AS-5 is responsible for is responding to many different locations, for the transport of resources, including specially trained personnel to specific types of emergences, where this expertise is required e.g., US&R. The LBFD US&R team responds to incidents within the city, as well as to incidents when requested by other jurisdiction, including State and Federal agency requests, as they did last year being deployed to Galveston for the flooding.
As stated by one of the crewmembers from AS-5 “We respond to requests through the Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the LBFD US&R team could be requested through this agency. It is much better to get acquainted with and work together on a drill now, then for us to meet for the first time on an actual emergency”.
Overall this joint mission was a great opportunity to increase interoperability, demonstrate how both of our agencies are committed to being prepared for any type of emergency, and our desire to build on a partnership into the future.
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