Cypress County Reeve Dan Hamilton shakes hands with HALO CEO Paul Carolan at the HALO hangar during a press announcement Tuesday.--Submitted Photo
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Cypress County and HALO Air Ambulance announced the beginning of a new pilot project which aims to improve wildfire response throughout the region.
This pilot is an expansion on a longstanding relationship, said Paul Carolan, CEO of HALO.
“We work really closely together on many things, and so it’s a natural fit for us,” said Carolan. “The helicopter is significantly under-utilized on the EMS side, so it’s here and available, and it only does public safety and emergency services.”
Emergency services co-ordinator Jason Linton said the county strives for efficiency when planning responses, and this will allow them to more effectively assess fires and move resources accordingly.
“We cover 13,000 square kilometres, and some of the biggest fires are in remote areas in the county. So we’re always trying to think of new initiatives, of how we can better cover those areas,” said Linton. “This is just a natural fit, we can get people brought to the scene to size it up. Then for our duty officers to be able to run command from up in the air, and be able to see fire patterns and how it’s moving now will give us a big advantage for firefighter safety.”
The pilot project will see HALO Air Ambulance provide real-time aerial reconnaissance and rapid deployment of initial resource support to Cypress County Emergency Services during wildfire incidents.
Equipped with advanced communications and staffed by professionals, HALO-1 will offer invaluable situational awareness and logistical support to ground crews, enabling more effective and efficient firefighting operations, said the county.
“We’ve already trained a group of rapid response crew members who are authorized to go in the back of the aircraft, and can get in and out while it’s running,” said Carolan. “All of the training that’s important to an initiative like this, so Jason’s duty officers would dispatch those three or four members here, and they would respond with us instead of going by ground.”
Deploying rapidly has always been a highlight of HALO’s skillset, which will now also be used to arrive at the scene of a fire quickly and determine if additional resources are needed to contain the fire in question. Linton added that it may be possible for the helicopter team to be able to handle some cases using local resources, allowing the county-wide response to stand down.
The pilot was first discussed in spring, and training for the team commenced quickly soon after. While the moisture received in May has delayed the start of the drier conditions that can lead to wildfires, said Linton, the team has already had a trial event on an island in the river last month.
“This partnership represents a significant step forward in our ongoing efforts to strengthen community resilience and safety,” said Carolan. “By combining HALO’s aerial expertise with Cypress County’s frontline firefighting capabilities, we are better equipped to protect lives, property and natural resources from the devastating impact of wildfires.”
