Helicopter Landing Zone

[TAPSJ 30]

Question For Any One Who Knows!!!

Know I Live In Dutchess County and I Have Seen Stat Flight Land At St. Francis Hospital In Poughkeepsie. Now I Know That Fairview 42-11 Responds To The Hospital For The Landing Zone. I Was Woundering About Helicopter Landing Zones At Other Hospitals, Like Westchester Medical Center. Who Responds In? Does Anyone Have Pictures? How Are The Trucks Set Up? Is A Line Stretched? Well Please Let Me Know Thanks.

Thomas

Also, Here Is A Picture From An East Fishkill MVA Taken On 8/16/2005. I Tried To Find One Landind At St. Francis, But This Works.

[JBE 328]

I don't know about Westchester, but Carmel responds to Putnam Hospital with an engine. Jacobi gets Squad 61 and TL-41.

[INIT915 1,119]

As for Westchester Medical Center and Hudson Valley Hospital Center, no Fire Department response normally. Obvious exceptions for aircraft in any kind of distress.

[BedfordFire 7]

Is there not a designated spot or landing pad built for the helicopters up at the hospital in poughkeepsie?

[TAPSJ 30]

Is there not a designated spot or landing pad built for the helicopters up at the hospital in poughkeepsie?

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Yes Thier Is. It Is Across From The ER. If You Go In The Main Entrance It Is At The Top Of The Hill On Your Left Hand Side.

Thomas

[xfirefighter484x 234]

Is there not a designated spot or landing pad built for the helicopters up at the hospital in poughkeepsie?

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Yes, Saint Francis has a Helipad, right near the main entrance road, on the left hand side as you drive up the hill. I am assuming it is just a precaution though, why they have Fairview FD respond with an engine for every landing. Personal opinion, I think it is a smart idea to have an angine there, I mean, why not? Ok, some peop may go for the argument of taking manpower out of service, but hey, it is a precaution, like most of the things we do in the fire service.

[Guest car2267]

For stat flight landings at wcmc, no fire dept responds. They have a a helipad that is a short distance from the building. THe helipad has portable fire extinguishers as well as a fuel tank for the helicopter.

[ex67-1 0]

A line should not be stretched at an LZ because if needed it may not be exactly at the LZ location where your apparatus is parked. However you should be ready to stretch if needed.

[Guest]

As for Westchester Medical Center and Hudson Valley Hospital Center, no Fire Department response normally. Obvious exceptions for aircraft in any kind of distress.

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when united hospital was open in port chester, eng61ine would stand by at the pad

[Guest]

A line should not be stretched at an LZ because if needed it may not be exactly at the LZ location where your apparatus is parked. However you should be ready to stretch if needed.

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a line is always stretched but not charged.

[Porsha911gt3 8]

A line should not be stretched at an LZ because if needed it may not be exactly at the LZ location where your apparatus is parked. However you should be ready to stretch if needed.

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a line is always stretched but not charged.

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If the helicopter crashes or if a line is needed for some other reason chances are, its not going to happen right at the LZ. If a line is stretched what do you do when you have to move the engine to the location of where the incident happens. Do u disconnect it? Then your down a line. It makes more sense not to stretch a line because nothing ever goes as planned in this business. It makes more sense to have someones hand on the line ready to pull it at a moments notice.

JUST AN OPINION THOUGH

Edited February 20, 2006 by Porsha911gt3

[Remember585 815]

If you ever take the class that StatFlight gives they tell you that it isn't even neccessary for an Engine to be at an LZ. The one exception that may help them is if you have a dry, dusty field where hosing it down may be beneficial. Howevere, most times I would imagine that the bird would be so close that you wouldn't have the time to pull this off.

[WAS967 97]

Makes sense. You don't see fire engines standing by at the airport waiting for helos to land now do ya. All you really need is a 100x100 spot and some way to mark it if it need marking. Half these pilots have landed in MUCH worse conditions than your typical LZ. (A lot of them are retired military).

[biglew 3]

Danbury Ct. has a paid engine ( Engine 23 ) stand by across from Danbury Hospital when Lifestar is flying into that hospital.

They dont stretch a line, they just stand fast until the landing is complete.

Personally, I think LZ's at an accident scene are more potentially problematic than routine landings at the hospital. However, I think its still a good idea to have some FD personnel at the scene of landings at hospitals.

I remember back in 1993, ( and some of you guys were there) my car was hit by a tractor trailer on I -684 northbound just south of the I-84 westbound entrance. It was serious PIAA and although I was rough shape, there was a subsequent MVA 5 minutes after mine, where a car went into the rear of the TT that hit me.

His injuries were quite severe, and Ill never forget the sound of that bird landing on 684 100+ feet away from me. I ended up being transported by Brewster FD to Danbury Hospital (thanks guys !!) ( I never realized that when youre boarded and collared that 10 minute ride seems like a half hour on your back)

[xfirefighter484x 234]

A line should not be stretched at an LZ because if needed it may not be exactly at the LZ location where your apparatus is parked. However you should be ready to stretch if needed.

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a line is always stretched but not charged.

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Sorry badge13, but ex67-1, I agree with you completely. A hoseline should not be stretched at an LZ, but yes, you should be prepared to in the event of an unfortunate catastrophe. It has been my experience that an LZ can change. Fast. In one incident, a landing zone was setup and coordinates given to Statflight, yet upon their approach, they did not like the area, and chose their own. A line had been pulled at that particular incident, and it was a sight to behold, watching guys scramble to gather up the hose, and throw it on the rig and have the engine relocate to the second LZ.

There is a Helipad where I work at IBM East Fishkill, and used to be used often by execs traveling in and out. It is still an active pad, just not as much as before. Also, guys at IBM Emergency Control have told me that it has been used before, for Medivac purposes, for industrial accident injuries, even as recent as a few months ago, before I began working there. It is my understanding that they do go standby at the helipad for incoming and outgoing medivacs, but i do not know about regular commercial traffic!

Edited February 20, 2006 by xfirefighter484x

[Guest]

There is a heli-pad at the Resco garbage plant ,and also one at HVMC, those are the two pads peekskill uses.

[Guest]

At Nyack Hospital they call for the following when STATFlight is landing:

PD: Orangetown PD

Fire: Nyack Fire Dept

Ambulance: Nyack Ambulance OR a bus at the ER Already

[Graham26 8]

Now this might have been before my time but did helicopters actually land at Port Chester Medical??? and where is the pad?!?!?!

[TAPSJ 30]

Also, While Me and My Wife Were At Vassar Hospital In Poughkeepsie, Where We Were Having Our Baby. I Saw Towards Rt. 9 Thier Is A Helicopter Landing Pad. Now City Of Poughkeepsie Would Respond Thier. I Was Woundering If Anyone Has Seen Or Heard A Helicopter Landing Thier???

Thomas

[EJS1810 7]

I don't know about Westchester, but Carmel responds to Putnam Hospital with an engine. Jacobi gets Squad 61 and TL-41.

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PHC stopped calling Carmel Fire for A LZ engine a couple of years ago. Now they only respond on request of the helicopter crew.

[Guest]

My opion, the helo crew dosent have time to wait for a engine to get staged. Most cases I have delt with in my experiance in the Coast Guard and FD when u need to land stat flight (or any medivac) the s@*t hit the fan. In these cases you generally dont have the luxary of setting up a fullon LZ with a rig. First they would have to wait for a crew to assemble(if volly) and/or travel time to the Hospital Helo pad. A car accident or "un secured " LZ is one thing, but at a hospital no i disaggree, besides if it crahses the single line streched isnt gonna do a whole lot anyways.

[Plectron 1]

CARMEL ONLY RESPONDS AT THE REQUEST OF THE HELICOPTER CREW OR IF THE HELICOPTER HAS TO LAND ANYWHERE ON THE GROUNDS BESIDES THE HELIPAD...AND WE ALSO NEVER STRECH A LINE JUST STANDBY UNTIL THE HELICOPTER IS ON THE GROUND THEN LEAVES AGAIN!!

[hudson144 150]

when stat flight first started here in west co they did put on a coarse for the fire depts. most of these pilots land all day long and all night long w/o the FD standing by. when you are operating at an MVA or a s/b for a chopper it is not recommended to pull a line simply because its possible if the chopper goes down it might not be at the LZ,most a/c incidents happen off of the airfeilds,this only re conferms what i mentioned. there is nothing wrong with pre-paring a handline for a foam opeeration because in the event of a crash it is important to establish a rescue path using foam for rescuers to get in and or victims to remove themselves. some of the points to remeber at a LZ is to keep people away! as the chopper lands the pebbles are shot around like buck shot from a shot gun. protective clothing to include eye protection is important. for those of you working at a night LZ remember the less lights at the LZ the better for the pilot. Night vision can be effected from spotlights,strobles,light bars etc. its not a bad idea to s/b but is it really needed? if the pilot decalres an in flight emergency (IFE) then its a different story-remeber as an IC out there that ground contact should be made with the pilot and if he has any additional requests or change in plans he can tell you. when you approach the helicoptor on the ground for you tall guys stay low! us vertically challenged firefighters have abetter chance not to get hit by the blades of the chopper,use caution around the tail rotor because as this is spinning you may not see it. its a good practice to go to the opposite side of the tail rotor because it helps you to stay away from the tail rotor.