Upland Fire Department REACH Helicopter

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The Upland Fire Department in San Bernardino County, California recently introduced a new critical care air ambulance service through a public/private partnership with REACH Air Medical Services.  This partnership is only one of two of its kind in the United States.

"The county is very large, and the adjoining counties are very large. And they have a lot of calls for service. And there's just not that many air resources in this region to be able to meet the demand," says Fire Chief Mike Antonucci of the Upland Fire Department.  

"The average fire department helicopter does not go to the extent of medical training that we have. We've gone through a flight school with all our people and we are running a nurse, an RN, flight nurse and paramedic/flight medic configuration on the airship," Antonucci explains.

"This is a critical care transport unit, we can take care of any type of patient they have out there," says Antonucci.  That includes 911 scene calls and interfacility transfers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They will serve not just San Bernardino County, but Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and possibly even San Diego County.

All parties involved have worked hard to weave the fire department and REACH together. REACH supplies the helicopter, pilots and mechanics and the Upland Fire Department provides trained and certified flight nurses and paramedics, the dispatch center, and call processing.

There are 12 people on staff, and they will be flying in a new Eurocopter EC-135 capable of operating under Instrument Flight Rules. The helicopter carries about two hours of fuel, has a maximum gross weight of about 6400 pounds, and is equipped with night vision goggles. 

"We can hit 140 knots, but normally she cruises around 120 knots or so, is comfortable for us," explains Mark Cicali the lead pilot for REACH Air Medical Services. "We have the HTAWS which is the helicopter terrain avoidance. It has T-cast so it lets us know where all the other helicopters are. So as far as safety, this is about state-of-the-art as far as the industry is concerned."

"We work in a very confined space and REACH has given us a lot of tools to work with and a lot of training in that space and we're able to do a lot," says Patty Murphy, a flight nurse with Upland Fire Department. 

They can intubate a patient and put them on a ventilator. There is also an EKG machine on board, along with all the medication they need. 

There is only one other operation similar to this partnership in the United States and that's STAR Flight Air Rescue Service in Austin, Texas. 


Author:Barbara Brooks - FDNNTV.com